Interestingly, the specific taste of each region’s version of the Sauvignon Blanc differs slightly depending on the climate and soil conditions. Because South Africa is a country that is as diverse as the people it is home to, each farm’s Sauvignon Blanc bears its own unique flavour, whether grassy, crisp or fruity. Despite being defined by its dry, fresh nature, this grape can also be used in the production of dessert wines. Sauvignon Blanc does not take long to mature, and is best when it is still young. It is ideal alongside a dish of fish or cheese. Interestingly, it also goes down well with pasta and sushi.  

Because the taste of a Sauvignon Blanc is so dependent on the area and other environmental criteria, South Africa prides itself for its rich array of quality wines. Each one, with its signature aroma, shows off another little corner of this fantastically fertile land. Vines can be planted in rock, sand or flint, which also affects the bouquet and flavour, especially to the trained taster. It is believed that South Africa’s advantage in producing the ideal Sauvignon Blanc lies in our ability to balance acidity and fruitiness in perfect ratio to one another.  

South Africa’s Sauvignon Blancs have featured high amongst international competitors, and are in enormous demand the world round. Gaining international acclaim sets South Africa apart amongst wine producers. By setting this standard, SA has gained credibility, not only for these grapes, but for a host of other varieties too.   Some of the most outstanding Sauvignon Blancs to compete on a global level include Boschendal, Cederberg, Constantia Glen, Fryers Cove, Graham Beck, Jordan, Klein Constantia, Nederburg and Springfield.  

Wine farmers frequently elect to pick Sauvignon Blanc grapes at different intervals in the season. This lends the end product a complex combination of flavours. The riper the grape, the sweeter it is. By combining these with the tarter, younger berries, the flavour is enhanced and balanced. When the berries are being gathered, oxygen is excluded to ensure that the flavour is kept inside the grape.

This reductive process is carried through right until the wine is bottled. The contact between the skin and the juice of the grape also needs to be monitored so that the flavours are controlled. If the contact between these two components of the grape is left for too long after picking, the wine becomes very intense. This reduces the aging ability of the wine significantly.  

Even the temperature at which the Sauvignon Blanc is fermented impacts heavily on the resultant flavour. When fermentation is conducted under warmer conditions, the resulting wine has a grassier, earthy taste to it. Cooler temperatures bring out the fruity, tropical qualities of the wine. Although this wine does not require a long aging process and is best enjoyed young, oak barrels soften the flavour, while steel barrels maintain the very crisp, dry quality of the wine.  

With such an adaptable and easily influenced grape, South African wine farmers are granted the ideal opportunity to prove the quality that this country’s rich soil and climate enables. This is most perfectly reflected in the crisp Sauvignon Blanc.  

Cooking with wine and the type of wine being used for the cooking process is a question that is highly debatable, because the dish prepared clearly shows the wine that was used to make it. If the wine was a good quality one it’ll show and if it was a cheap low quality one, it’ll show!. Some people use drinking wines to cook while others use only cooking wines. Of course it must be remembered that a drinking wine can be used to cook, while keeping in mind that you are overspending where not required, but a cooking wine cannot be used to drink., Infact a cooking wine is salty and generally an inferior quality wine as compared to the drinking and is ok only for cooking and for nothing else.
Cooking with wine is as old as wine drinking itself. Infact it is assumed that originally fermented grape juices were used to prepare stews and casseroles and various other dishes. This fermented grape juice was accidently drunk by a member of a royal family, while he was in his kitchen and he liked it to the extent that a refined and better quality of the same juice was also created for drinking purposes from then on. That drinking juice later came to be known as drinking wine while the one that was used for cooking retained its name as a cooking wine.
As it was mentioned earlier, while purchasing a cooking wine keep in mind that whatever you buy will be reflected in the taste of the dish that is the end result. You can buy wine online. So a cheap quality cooking wine will give a bad tasting dish, and a connoisseur or a sommelier will easily be able to identify the type of wine that had gone into your dish! This does not mean that the higher priced a wine the better it is and the lower priced wine the cheaper It is. It only means that whenever you are purchasing wine for cooking, purchase the same from a reputed store or purchase wine online or go for the recommendations of someone who has bought and used a wine for cooking. Infact person to person recommendations are the best way to ensure that the wine you are purchasing is the best for cooking.
Another thing to remember is that older wines and vintages are usually not recommended for dishes that have a long cooking process. These wines somehow don’t hold up to the actual cooking process and long simmers. When using wines for cooking, especially at a time you are not buying a cooking wine and are using a drinking wine, shop around for bargains on young and powerful wines that have their own taste and mild aromas. These wines hold up well in the cooking process and easily intensify the taste of the dish by several folds! Also remember that a good quality leftover drinking wine can also be used in a recipient that calls for an option of a drinking red wine, white wine, champagne or rose!

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