Napa Ridge Sauvignon Blanc

This wine is a great example of why I like doing blind tastings.  If I had known what I was tasting, I know I would have had a bias against this wine.  Why?  My preconceived notion of this wine is that it’s basically a bulk-produced, “generic-label” wine and my expectations of quality are low.  But when you don’t know what you’re tasting, the quality of the wine itself is the only thing you’re evaluating.  I probably wouldn’t have even tasted this wine, had I not received it as a sample.  And while it didn’t totally blow me away, I was pleasantly surprised by it.

Napa Ridge is yet another brand from Bronco Wine Company, the folks who produce Charles Shaw and dozens of other ultra-cheap wines. The brand was established in 1986 and was owned by Beringer Vineyards prior to the sale to Bronco in 2000.

There is some interesting history behind Napa Ridge.  It’s been a controversial brand with Napa Valley vintners due to the fact that before it was sold to Bronco there was no Napa Valley fruit used in the production of the wine.  Many Napa Valley vintners felt that the Napa Valley name was being exploited by this wine.  Bronco Wine Company had also been accused of exploiting the Napa Valley name with other labels that they owned by using the word “Napa” on wines that were produced with less expensive non-Napa grapes.  But Bronco Wine Company surprised its critics by actually using Napa Valley fruit in some of their wines.  This particular bottle is labeled as “Napa Ridge Napa Valley”, so I assume they have used authentic Napa Valley grapes in this one.

While California isn’t usually my top pick for Sauvignon Blanc, I thought this one was a decent wine.  It’s slightly soft, but the bouquet is a nice, tropical and mineral blend.  (Yep… I just said I found some mineral notes in this wine that I would have doubted had I not tasted it myself).  Grapefruit, mango, melon and apple aromas give the fruit good complexity on the nose.  The palate has crisp acidity, with tasty grapefruit and apple flavors.  Mineral comes into play on the finish of this wine too.  I prefer a little more concentration on the palate and a little more intensity on the nose, but overall it’s a decent Sauvignon Blanc.

Wine: Napa Ridge
Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 85
Price: $12.00

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