We're in the wine barrel cellar on a Sunday afternoon when winemaker Taylor Whelan drops the bombshell.
He tells us the 2024 Reserve Sauvignon Blanc ($26) we're sipping, blended and crafted by him at Mission Hill Family Estate in West Kelowna, is actually made from raw wines shipped all the way from New Zealand.
Usually such replacement wine, necessitated by the Okanagan's cold snap and decimated 2024 grape harvest, is made of grapes brought in from nearby Washington state, Oregon and California.
Sourcing from halfway across the planet is a bold move, but completely in keeping with Mission Hill's quest for authenticity and perfection.
"To replicate the style of the Mission Hill Sauvignon Blanc we couldn't do it with grapes from the regular places we were going in Oregon and California," explained Whelan.
"So, we went to New Zealand and picked raw wine from several sites in Marlborough, had them shipped here (yes, in big tanks on boats on the Pacific Ocean) and blended and filtered them for the 2024 Mission Hill Sauvignon Blanc."
The result is New Zealand in a glass with an Okanagan twist, mimicking Mission Hill's prefered style of Sauv Blanc -- aromas and flavours of tropical fruit with herbaceousness and minerality.
It's apropos that Whelan introduced this wine just before today's International Sauvignon Blanc Day -- a trigger to celebrate all types and styles of the white wine made all over the globe.
More about International Sauvignon Blanc Day later.
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Now back to La Belle Vie, the event at Mission Hill where Whelan delivered his shock-and-awe Sauv Blanc message.
La Belle Vie, translated from French is 'the beautiful life' or 'the good life', showcased all the new experiences Mission Hill will be offering this spring, summer and fall.
As such, asparagus and tomato tart paired with Mission Hill 2024 Reserve Rose ($26), and made from Pinot Noir grapes imported from California, is served at the al fresco Terrace restaurant.
Then there's the tour of the barrel cellar, where Whelan made his appearance.
And a final stop at the tasting bar for sips of 2022 Perpetua Chardonnay ($65) and 2021 Jagged Rock Terroir Collection Syrah ($62).
Mission Hill has a myriad of elevated experiences (including summer concerts by Blue Rodeo, Jann Arden, Andy Grammer and the Gypsy Kings) that can be explored and booked at: https://www.missionhillwinery.com/.
International Sauvignon Blanc Day
If you're a regular reader of this column you know every wine varietal gets flogged with its own day.
Last week it was International Viognier Day, later this month there's World Chardonnay Day and National Wine Day, next month my favourite International Rose Day and through the summer International Cava Day, Shiraz Day, National White Wine Day and International Pinot Noir Day.
Anyway, you get the drift.
And it all brings us today's aforementioned International Sauvignon Day.
It's commemorated on the first Friday of May every year, thus 2025's early falling on May 2.
Like most grape varieties, Sauvignon Blanc's native land is France and more specifically the Bordeaux region where Sauv Blanc is generally blended with a bit Semillon and just a splash of Muscadelle to create a wine that's rarely called Sauvignon Blanc, but is known as white Bordeaux.
The French creation is generally subtle with aromas and flavours of grapefruit, gooseberry and white flowers with a nice streak of minerality and herbaceousness.
Take Sauv Blanc to New Zealand and the expression is amped up with a profile of passionfruit, fresh-cut grass and green bell pepper.
In other wine-growing regions around the world, including the Okanagan, Sauvignon Blanc is in between -- with classic citrus and honey aromas and flavours with the previously mentioned minerality and herbaceousness in moderation.
Sauvignon Blanc is certainly wonderful sipped on its own at home, at a bar or on a patio.
But, it's also incredibly food-friendly and will pair beautifully with barbecue chicken, fish and seafood, pasta in cream sauce, salads and Asian fare.
So, pick your style, country of origin and price point of Sauvignon Blanc from the list below and get sipping.
- Blasted Church 2024 Sauvignon Blanc ($28)
Made by the winery in Okanagan Falls of grapes from Washington state
- Arboleda 2021 Sauvignon Blanc ($30) from Chile
- Attems 2023 Sauvignon Blanc ($29) from Italy
- Herederos del Marques de Riscal 2023 Sauvignon Blanc ($27) from Spain
- Matua 2022 Sauvignon Blanc ($17) from New Zealand
- Leyda Reserva 2023 Sauvignon Blanc ($13.50) from Chile
- Errazuriz Reserva 2024 Sauvignon Blanc ($13) from Chile
- Pure Coastal 2023 Sauvignon Blanc ($16) from South Australia
- Red Rooster 2022 Sauvignon Blanc ($20) from the Naramata Bench
- Jackson-Triggs Reserve 2024 ($18)
Made by the winery in Oliver from local and international grapes
Steve MacNaull is a NowMedia Group reporter, Okanagan wine lover and Canadian Wine Scholar. Reach him at [email protected]. His wine column appears every Friday afternoon in this space.
