A second spring sipping of sauvignon blanc: This week, our taste panel sampled two labels from the northern hemisphere and three from the south Final Edition

• Published in: The Vancouver sun (1986)
• Main Author: Gismondi, Anthony
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: Vancouver, B.C Postmedia Network Inc 19.06.1999
• ISSN: 0832-1299

A KWV sauvignon from South Africa's Western Cape was our first subject. Everybody liked the fresh, fruity nose. [Douglas Anderson] picked up some green grass in the background, but both he and [Glenn Eleiter] thought it "smelled sweet." Eleiter really enjoyed the "rich, smooth mouth feel and its lingering finish." Thai food with lemongrass was Eleiter's choice to accompany it; Anderson looked at the Garden Lounge menu and chose Shanghai noodles coated in mushroom-soy-chili-garlic sauce and a touch of vegetable stock. This was the biggest, ripest sauvignon of the group, leading Anderson to say: "It's flexible enough to serve throughout several courses, at home or in the restaurant." The nose wowed all of us. "Big and smoky," said Anderson. "Great texture in the mouth and wonderful balance," said Eleiter. "This is stylish, ripe sauvignon you shouldn't miss." It seemed everybody was making plans to stop by the liquor store on the way home to pick up some bottles. Spicy Asian food would be a natural pairing with it, Anderson said, or, "pan-roasted wild salmon with olive oil, braised artichokes, red bell pepper essence and herb salad." (Anderson prefers to pan roast wild salmon, rather than grill it, because it's a drier fish that tends to fall apart when grilled.)