Whitehaven Is Heaven

It's Spring. It's April, so let's get back to how to stop worrying and learn to love cheap wine.

First, let me tell you I have been exploring new champagne labels over the past few months. 

What have I learned? 

Basically, with the exception of Veuve Clicquot, I have been pronouncing every label incorrectly. Now, proper pronunciation of any word is important to me, but when we recently popped into a Total Wine and failed to find Tattinger on the shelves, we inquired using the proper pronunciation. Immediately, the staffer looked at us with a very baffled expression and said nothing. Then Gerry Pronounced Gary said it the way it is spelled. Then the champagne light-bulb lit up brightly on his face. Oh, it is pronounced, Teh-tan-zhay. 

Now back to the reality, of inexpensive white wines such as, Whitehaven.

Always on the lookout for something potentially worthy of a blog post, on a recent trip to Costco, Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc caught my eye. I scanned the description and grabbed a bottle for $14.97. Later, nicely chilled, I took a sip to see if it would go into my chiller on a more permanent basis, or go where all swill goes...down the drain.

Alas, it is a keeper and we have already added bottles to our cheap wine shelf.

Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc comes from the Marlborough region in New Zealand, and is family owned. Sue White and her late husband, Greg, came to the Marlborough region over 20 years ago, According to their website, Sue still leads the winery. The winery is dedicated to leaving the planet the way they found it by responsible, sustainable  practices. 

The Marlborough District in New Zealand is northeast of the South Island, bordered by the Pacific Ocean and is known for Sauvignon Blanc wine. New Zealand does wine very, very well.

Sometimes I do the right thing by wine by remembering the 20-minute rule for white wine. Remove from chiller or fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving. Not everyone does, but I enjoy a chilled glass for both white wine and champagne. Both champagne and white wine need to be chilled, then allowed to warm a bit before serving. When wine is too cold, it masks he aromas and flavors.

The 20-minute rule applies for red wine, but in reverse. Chill for 20 minutes prior to serving. Red wine needs to be cooler than room temperature for maximum flavor. 

Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc is, definitely, now one of my favorites and at the $15 mark (price can vary, of course), will be consistently on my Gigi's Wine Shelf.

No matter how you pronounce wine or champagne, we will never be wine snobs. 


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