Saracina Sauvignon Blanc, Pacific oysters and chèvres

Olive tree in Saracina Vineyard


John Fetzer’s favorite description of his 2007 Saracina Sauvignon Blanc (about $23) is “a laser beam on the palate.” I can’t think of a more accurate description of this laser sharp, brilliantly scented, dry white wine. It’s everything anyone could ever ask for in a Sauvignon Blanc: a gorgeous honeydew melon aroma with lime, wet stone and tropical (particularly passionfruit-ish) nuances floating above the rim. Medium bodied – not light, not heavy – and silky fine, punctuated by zesty, lively, mouth-watering acidity. Like sticking your head into a brighter, fresher, undisturbed parallel universe.

So who is John Fetzer, and why does he sound so familiar? Well, for eleven years he was the CEO of (and driving force behind) Fetzer Vineyards – one of California’s most prominent organic pioneers – before the family brand was sold to Brown-Forman in 1992. Like several other Fetzers, John hung around Mendocino County to develop his own vineyards in even closer alignment with organic and biodynamic principle. In 2001, he established Saracina Vineyards in partnership with his wife, Patty Rock.

John Fetzer and Patty Rock

Today the Saracina Ranch is a 600 acre bio-diverse property. The entire kit and caboodle consists of 300 acres of California Certified Organic (CCOF) and biodynamically planned vines, sheep and goats roaming pastoral hillsides, 100 year old (transplanted) olive trees, fruit orchards and organic vegetable gardens, and no less than four ponds sustaining life for herons, visiting Canadian geese, and myriad other wildlife.

Hence, the pure, powerful yet fine boned Saracina Sauvignon Blanc. This white is sourced from a biodynamic section of the Saracina estate plus two other organic 40-50 year old vineyards, all averaging a ridiculously low ½ ton of fruit per acre (most Sauvignon blanc plantings in California yield closer to 4-6 tons); and then fermented with the natural yeasts from the grape bloom, and bottled unfiltered, unfined, unnothinged… and what more could anyone want?

Crassostrea gigas.


… Except, maybe, for a plate of freshly shucked, stark naked, palpitating oysters – the ideal match for a pure, tartly balanced style of Sauvignon Blanc like this. One of the ideal oyster matches are those of the Pacific genus, Crassostrea gigas – the long (up to 6 inches commercially), plump, two-or-three-bite sized oysters farmed in the icy waters off the Pacific Northwest, which have a creamy, fruity taste that mingles magnificently with lush yet stony, lemony zested Sauvignon Blancs such as Saracina.





But if for cheese you pine, I strongly recommend pure, artisanal regional American grown Chèvres such as those of Laura Chenel (Sonoma), Haystack Mountain (Colorado), Sweet Grass Dairy (Georgia), Bonnie Blue (Tennessee), and Big Island Goat Cheese (Island of Hawai`i), which have the mildly acidic and leafy green, fresh earthiness to match the mildly tart, lush fruit quality of the Saracina, while bringing out its faintly herbal, leafy green varietal subtleties. Toast some rounds of baguette, spoon out some quince paste, dried berries or even mango chutney, and suddenly you have, indeed, reached an alternative universe!


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