This month the French Winophiles are looking at Sauvignon Blanc from around France. Deanna of Wineivore is hosting; read her invitation. If you are reading this early enough, feel free to jump in on our Twitter chat on Saturday, July 16th at 8am Pacific time. Just follow the hashtag #Winophiles and be sure to add it to anything you tweet so we can see it.
Here are the articles planned for the group. I am happily unplugged at the moment, so if other articles were listed after Tuesday, I will add them when I get back in range.
- Sauvignon Blanc from the Small Hamlet of Chavignol in Sancerre by Crushed Grape Chronicles
- Shrimp Bisque and a Sauvignon Blanc from Bordeaux by A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Sole Meuniere Paired with Sancerre by Wineivore
- Surprise! Sauvignon Blanc from Bourgogne by Food Wine Click!
- Tasting Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc: Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé by Always Ravenous
- Vietnamese Summer Rolls with a Sauvignon Blanc from the Pays de la Loire by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
Belles Vignes 2020 Sauvignon Blanc
I decided to pour a Sauvignon Blanc from the Pays de la Loire which is a fairly broad designation. I picked up this bottle at Trader Joe's for less than $10 but, sadly, I couldn't come up with a whole lot more information about the grapes or the winemaker. Interestingly, I haven't poured any Sauvignon Blancs from France! I will have to keep an eye out for some. So, I'll just offer my tasting notes and links to a few other Sauvignon Blancs that I have previously paired.
- From California: Dukkah-Roasted Carrots with Lime-Tahini Yogurt + 2019 St.Supéry Dollarhide Estate Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc
- From South Australia: Asparagus-Leek Velouté + Naturalis Sauvignon Blanc 2020
- From New Zealand: Passionfruit Pavlova + Sileni's Sauvignon Blanc
This wine poured a pale, almost translucent yellow. Barely yellow. The nose was restrained with hints of citrus and gooseberries. The palate was more nuanced with discernible notes of Meyer lemon, Makrut lime, and a tinge of mandarin. This was crisp and refreshing, a perfect summer sipper.
Vietnamese Summer Rolls
I decided to pair the wine with my perfect summer appetizer: fresh rolls. I have always called these 'Fresh Spring Rolls', then I learned that people call them 'Summer Rolls.' Even more perfect with a summer dish and a summer wine.
These can be made with any colorful ingredients. I picked thinly sliced watermelon radishes, julienned carrots, thin wedges of ripe mango and more. And I served these with two herb-heavy dipping sauces - one made with ginger and turmeric and one made with herbs and citrus.
Ingredients makes 24
Summer Rolls
- 24 small rice paper rounds
- julienned carrots, approximately 2 cups (I used a mixture of orange and purple)
- 2 ripe avocado, peeled and sliced
- 2 cups watermelon radish, thinly sliced (you can use any kind of radish, these are just the prettiest)
- 1 cup ripe mano, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 cup fresh organic mint leaves, destemmed and torn
- 1 cup fresh organic basil leaves, destemmed and torn
- 1 cup fresh cilantro, destemmed and torn plus more for garnish
- 2 cup cooked rice vermicelli noodles, trimmed to 3" lengths
- Also needed: water for dipping rice paper rounds, dipping sauces or salad dressings
Procedure
Fill a pie pan with cold water. One at a time, dip 1 sheet of rice paper in the cold water for 5 to 10 seconds to soften slightly.
Place wrapper on a clean work surface and top with veggies, noodles, and herbs.
Fold short ends over the filling and roll as tightly as you can to enclose. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
Place the finished rolls on a platter so that they are not touching each other. The rice paper is sticky and they will tear if you leave them in contact with each other for too long.
As I mentioned earlier, serve these with whatever dipping sauces you like. Salad dressings work, too.
That's a wrap on our July #Winophiles event. We'll be back next month with articles about Languedoc, Organic if Possible with Jeff of Food Wine Click! at the head. Stay tuned.
