Baby vines at Klein Constantia in Cape Town
Credit: Leisa Tyler/Getty
R.E.M. had such an uncomfortable relationship with their hit song Shiny Happy People that for years they refused to play it live. If you looked for a wine equivalent of that exuberant but polarising track, you’d probably alight upon sauvignon blanc, a grape capable of being so noisily, vacuously cheerful that for some it’s depressing.
Sauvignon blanc is popular but (unless it’s from the Loire in France, Sancerre-country, or from Bordeaux) it also draws flack, especially from fine-wine-o-philes. The grape makes wines that are quintessentially summery but it can also be shrill. Rather than casting it aside, a growing number of ambitious winemakers around the world are seeking to make sauvignon blanc that is still mouth-wateringly refreshing but also more sophisticated.