Drink.  Learn.  Laugh.  Repeat.

Welcome Back!Sign in here:

Not Registered?Become one of our thirsty clan 326,710 strong:

Register Today!

Sauvignon Blanc Wine Pairing


One of the most refreshing and vibrant white wines, Sauvignon Blanc's signature aromas include freshly mown grass, lemon-grass, gooseberry, green bell pepper, green melon, grapefruit, canned peas, asparagus, lime, nettle, acacia, hawthorn and herbal notes. Sauvignon Blanc vines are vigorous and growers must trim back leaf canopy so that the grapes get sufficient nutrients to ripen and develop their flavors. When under ripe, the grapes can have a cat litterbox aroma that writer Jancis Robinson famously referred to as "cat's pee on a gooseberry bush." Not attractive.

In the Loire Valley, Sauvignon Blanc makes wines known as Pouilly Fumé and Sancerre, named after their respective towns and usually made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc and unoaked. Fumé refers to the smoky or flinty character Loire wines achieve from their marvelous minerality.

In California, this wine is often labeled as Fumé Blanc, a play on the Loire name and a rebranding of the wine that hadn't been successful when introduced as Sauvignon Blanc. Although barrel fermentation and oak aging aren't as common for Sauvignon Blanc as it is for Chardonnay, some producers do this to add some complexity, and others, unfortunately, to hide aggressive vegetal odors. Many people prefer the crisp, fresh fruit style and zesty attack of the unoaked style and its mouth-watering acidity. This is also why many people prefer to drink most of the dry styles in their youth up to about three years after the vintage.

Sauvignon Blanc is the leading white wine of New Zealand that Cloudy Bay winery made famous in the Marlborough region. South Africa also makes excellent, underpriced Sauvignon Blanc as does Rueda, Spain; Syria, Austria; Collio, Italy; and Casablanca and San Antonio Valleys in Chile. Australia is generally too warm to maintain the wine's vibrant acidity.

Blending with Semillon adds richness and complexity, and creates the legendary dessert wine Château d'Yquem in the Sauternes region of Bordeaux, France. There and in neighboring Barsac, the grapes are
left to hang past the normal harvest period so that they are infected with the benevolent mold known as botrytis cinerea (noble rot) that concentrates their flavors. Semillon brings notes of figs and ripe tree fruit to the final wine. In the Graves district of Bordeaux, the two grapes are blended to create world famous dry white wines.

Sauvignon Blanc is incredibly versatile with food. Try the dry style with bell peppers, cilantro, smoked cheeses, shellfish, Caesar salad, Jarlsberg cheese, corned beef and cabbage, cheese fondue, goat cheese, turkey pot pie, egg dishes, asparagus quiche, guacamole, sushi, pasta with cream-based sauce, pizza and grilled salmon. Dessert styles go well with angel food cake, biscotti, bread pudding, cheesecake, fresh fruit, fruit tarts, and fruit-based desserts.


Sauvignon Blanc Wine with appetizers:

     • dumplings: Chinese
     • paté: fish
     • serve this wine as an aperitif on its own
     • salmon: smoked in sandwiches
     • avocado

Sauvignon Blanc Wine with beef:

     • carpaccio, beef tartare
     • beef: corned
     • corned beef and cabbage
     • tripe
     • shepherd's pie

Sauvignon Blanc Wine with breads:

     • bread: Tuscan
     • bread: rustic
     • bread: Italian
     • multi-grain
     • sourdough
     • baguette: French

Sauvignon Blanc Wine with cheese:

     • Morbier
     • Cabri de la Croix
     • Fleury
     • Goutte du Limousin
     • Losange
     • Mothais sur Feuille
     • Pouligny Saint Pierre
     • Valencay
     • Tricorne
     • cheese sandwich: grilled
     • Anneau Du Vic-Bilh
     • brie
     • camembert
     • fondue: cheese
     • goat cheese
     • cheese: strong
     • swiss
     • gouda
     • colby
     • cheddar: sharp: 1 year - 4 years
     • cheddar: sharp: 5 years - 12 years
     • swiss: baby
     • Sainte Maure
     • Neufchatel

Sauvignon Blanc Wine with chicken/poultry:

     • partridge
     • chicken club sandwich
     • turkey, fried
     • chicken francese
     • chicken: fried
     • turkey with heavy sauces
     • goose
     • cornish hen
     • chicken: marinated on the grill
     • chicken stir-fry
     • chicken pie
     • turkey
     • chicken with truffles
     • chicken with grapes
     • poultry
     • chicken, turkey pot pie
     • chicken
     • cornish game hen
     • turkey, chicken sausage, spicy
     • chicken: grilled
     • chicken & feta tostadas
     • chicken with creamy sauces
     • chicken with lemon/citrus sauces

Sauvignon Blanc Wine with egg dishes:

     • quiche: asparagus
     • quiche
     • quiche: spinach & bacon

Sauvignon Blanc Wine with ethnic dishes:

     • Pacific Rim dishes
     • chicken: butter
     • lamb korma
     • curries: spicy
     • choucroute garnie
     • shrimp: coconut: Thai
     • pork roast: Chinese
     • Asian Dishes
     • spring rolls
     • sauerkraut
     • tacos
     • chicken: mourgh: Afghan
     • barbeque: Asian
     • sashimi
     • dim sum
     • curries: creamy
     • curry: coconut: mild
     • curry: green: Thai
     • Chinese dishes
     • Indian dishes
     • sushi
     • Thai dishes
     • black bean sauces: with Asian dishes
     • noodles: Asian styled
     • shrimp: Thai
     • duck: peking
     • curries: lightly spiced
     • chicken korma
     • chicken salad: Chinese
     • borshch, beet soup
     • wasabi seasoning: Japanese
     • curries: mild
     • gumbo

Sauvignon Blanc Wine with game:

     • game birds
     • guinea-fowl

Sauvignon Blanc Wine with goat:

     • goat

Sauvignon Blanc Wine with lamb:

     • lamb: Irish stew

Sauvignon Blanc Wine with pasta:

     • risotto with lemon-mint
     • pasta with pesto
     • lasagna: vegetable
     • pasta with tomato seafood sauces
     • pasta with oil based sauces
     • pasta with alfredo sauce
     • pasta dishes: light
     • risotto: vegetable
     • pasta with primavara sauce
     • pasta with vodka sauce
     • pasta with white truffles
     • pasta with pesto sauce
     • pasta with cream-based sauce
     • pasta salad

Sauvignon Blanc Wine with pizza:

     • pizza: Hawaii
     • pizza: vegetarian
     • pizza: fungi
     • pizza: grilled tofu & bell peppers
     • pizza: Margherita
     • pizza: combination
     • pizza: pesto

Sauvignon Blanc Wine with pork:

     • sausage: spicy
     • spam
     • ham

Sauvignon Blanc Wine with sauces, spices, herbs:

     • caraway
     • basil
     • cilantro
     • sauce: citrus-flavored
     • dill
     • sauce: mint
     • sauce: pesto
     • rosemary
     • saffron
     • sauce: seafood cocktail
     • vinaigrette
     • sauce: yogurt
     • juniper
     • chives
     • coriander
     • cumin
     • fennel
     • garlic
     • ginger
     • oregano
     • parsley
     • black pepper
     • chervil

Sauvignon Blanc Wine with seafood & shellfish:

     • salmon with herbs
     • halibut: grilled: with rosemary
     • seafood casserole
     • coquilles st. jacques
     • fish: gelfilte
     • bass: striped
     • fish & chips
     • trout: poached
     • tuna: grilled
     • crab
     • lobster
     • mussels
     • oysters
     • shrimp
     • fish: smoked
     • swordfish
     • fish: white-fleshed
     • shrimp salad
     • scallops with rich sauces
     • fish: rich with light sauce
     • salmon: grilled
     • ceviche
     • fishcakes
     • seafood salad
     • fish: barbecued
     • fish dishes: richly sauced
     • trout in cream
     • shrimp cocktail
     • scallops

Sauvignon Blanc Wine with soups & stews:

     • soup: vegetable
     • soup: lentil

Sauvignon Blanc Wine with turkey holiday dinner:

     • Tofurkey
     • turnip
     • turducken
     • turkey: dark meat
     • stuffing: chestnut
     • dressing: oyster
     • chestnuts
     • potatoes: mashed: buttery
     • succotash
     • potatoes: mashed
     • corn
     • corn: creamed
     • carrots

Sauvignon Blanc Wine with vegetables & salads:

     • brussels sprouts
     • salad: dressing: creamy Italian
     • mushrooms: button
     • pickles
     • french fries
     • guacamole
     • minestrone
     • salad: caprese
     • capers
     • salad: chef
     • salad: cobb
     • potato soups
     • salads: green
     • cauliflower with cheese
     • vegetables: stir-fried
     • vegetables: green
     • salads
     • vegetables: grilled
     • tomatoes
     • asparagus
     • salad: avocado
     • avocado mousse
     • salad: chicken
     • peppers: chili
     • salad: field greens
     • salad: Greek
     • mushrooms: portobello: grilled
     • fiddleheads

 

Would you like to browse wines available in stores now that match these dishes?

Do you want to search for recipes that have a complementary ingredient to your search?

Find out how to post your own copy of the web-based Drinks Matcher widget on your computer desktop, web site, blog or social media page such as Facebook, MySpace or iGoogle.

 

WANT TO LEARN HOW TO

PAIR WINE
& FOOD?

Join me in a free online video class to learn the secrets to perfect pairings.

Wine of the Week

As featured on  

CTV Wine of the Week!

Deu la Deu White Wine
Alvarinho 2022,
Monção E Melgaço, Vinho Verde D.O.C. ...

Natalie MacLean

Natalie MacLean offers North America's most popular online wine and food pairing classes. She was named the World's Best Drinks Writer at the World Food Media Awards in Australia.

Natalie has published two books with Random House, both selected as one of Amazon's Best Books of the Year.

Join 326,710 thirsty wine lovers who get access to all of her wine reviews by becoming a member of her site. Take a free online pairing class with her here.

FEEL LOST IN THE

LCBO?

Know the wines you want before you even get to the store with my wine reviews. Join now. It's free.

Red, White & Drunk All Over

  Best Books of the Year

Red, White & Drunk all over by Natalie MacLean

Natalie MacLean writes about wine with a sensuous obsession... and often laugh-out-loud funny... Terrific.

Rex Pickett, Sideways

Ms. MacLean is the disarming Everywoman. She loves wine, loves drinking ... ultimately, it's a winning formula.

Eric Asimov, The New York Times

GOT A SMARTPHONE?

Access my reviews on mobile with the bar code scanner.

GET NAT'S APP

Unquenchable: A Tipsy Search

  Best Books of the Year

Unquenchable by Natalie MacLean

Natalie MacLean is a new force in the wine writing world ‐ a feisty North American answer to Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson. She can write beautifully about wine.

The Financial Times of London

There are very few people in the wine world who "get it" and Natalie is one of those who brings more fun to a buttoned-up and stodgy game.

Gary Vaynerchuck, Wine Library TV

Starting a Wine Cellar?

Expert advice for all budgets

Insider tips on starting a wine cellar
From wine racks to underground caves, insider tips on size and space, number of bottles, ideal conditions and reputable resources.   learn more  

337,621

WINE
REVIEWS

326,710

ACTIVE
MEMBERS
Winner World's Best Drink Writer
WFour-Time Winner James Beard Foundation
Five-Time Winner Association of Food Journalists
Six-Time Winner Bert Greene Award
Best Wine Literature Book Gourmand World Cookbook Awards
Online Writer of the Year Louis Roederer International Wine Writing Award