Farella La Luce Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2017

Sauvignon Blanc is one of our favorite refreshments -- crisp, fresh and lively. We have subscribed to this style for 30 years from the same block on our vineyard estate. We keep 15 – 20% of our Sauvignon Blanc grapes, the remainder going to Lail Vineyards, Realm Cellars and Tournesol. Our estate-bottled Sauvignon Blanc bears the name “La Luce,” an homage to this wine and our Italian heritage, but in particular to our founder, Frank Farella (alive and well!) and his passion for our vineyard and the spectacular sunsets, we enjoy from our west-facing site on an almost daily basis. He produced the first Sauvignon Blanc from our vineyard in 1985. Many Napa Valley Sauvignon Blancs are made with an attempt at richness and complexity but, too often, resulting in wines that are better compared to their Chardonnay cousins. The key to a lively Sauvignon Blanc is harvesting at the lowest sugar level in the ripeness window and a cold fermentation with Champagne yeast below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. We also ferment in a stainless steel tank and minimize the handling of the wine, again to maintain freshness. In the end, our Sauvignon Blanc is best compared to the light, fresh, relatively low alcohol white wines commonly found in Northern Italy. We have been amazed at the ability of those wines to refresh and not dull the senses due to their low alcohol and high acidity. It is difficult to find wines made domestically in this category with any varietal. Since our first vintage, we have produced Sauvignon Blancs that play off of the citrus and light tropical fruit characteristics that are so often overblown in the wide range of styles produced in California. We have sought to enhance the delicacy and refreshment that can make Sauvignon Blanc such a wonderful aperitif to enhance your appetite and enliven your palate.