Now try one of the big guys

J-T may not be ‘boutique’ but Sauv is chic

Last month’s search for good local wines had a serious omission. We all missed one of the best local whites — because it was not yet on the shelves.

Usually I don’t like to recommend Sauvignon Blanc wines till mid-spring, but with an early Easter and daylight savings, I’m jumping the gun. And the wine in question is a good-any-season drink. A local I’d be happy to have anytime, and one I’d be proud to take anywhere.

Fans of New Zealand Sauvs will know what I’m talking about when I call this wine “a rocker.” High energy, jolting and energizing. Something to get you going. An extreme wine. Jackons-Triggs Sauv is only mildly extreme — more of a Muskoka breeze than a full force gale. Refreshment with a lovely spring meadow feeling.

There’s a fruity and flirty friendliness that’s similar to Pinot Grigio but more stylish. Wine for ladies lunching at Holts.

For the rest of us, after work, party sipping, a seafood supper and weekend brunch are just some of the possibilities with this wine.

I often get flak from boutique Niagara wineries when I recommend a wine such as this because it’s by one of the big guys. Sure it’s great to support small business, but for the local industry to develop it needs wines that are available in quantity, with prices close to the competition from the outside world. It needs a really good wine such as J-T Sauvignon Blanc.

recommendations

• A reader asked when to drink last week’s recommendation, the Stoneleigh Pinot Noir. I told him 99 per cent of wines in stores today are ready for immediate consumption. Aging wine went out with warming-up your TV.

• Local cocktail: It’s a bit expensive but awfully good — a champagne cocktail made with local Vidal icewine. Pour one ounce of icewine into a champagne flute, add half an ounce of Grappa, and fill the glass with a good sparkling wine such as Colio ‘Lily.’ Enjoy the delicious peach flavours of Vidal icewine, the kick of Grappa and the fun of sparkling. Rock on!

• This Saturday’s Vintages release recommendations are posted on billysbestbottles.com.

Billy Munnelly

info@billysbestbottles.com

Billy Munnelly has been writing about wine for 25 years and is the author of Canada’s largest selling wine book, Billy’s Best Bottles. Sign up for his free monthly e-letter at www.billysbestbottles.com