Celebrate White Wine Day, California Style

I have long wondered what marketing genius came up with all these national wine celebration days—as if we really need an excuse to imbibe. Anyway, today, we’re celebrating, observing—and certainly, drinking white wines—the day so designated to do so. Here’s a sun-kissed selection from California that ranges from the light and easy to those with more gravitas, demonstrating that west coast whites are more diverse than ever—even within their historic categories of grape varieties.

Amulet Estate “AE” White Blend 2021, Napa Valley. This is a hand-harvested field blend harvested from the Proof Vineyard, one of the Napa Valley’s oldest, consisting of 55% Sauvignon Vert, 35% Semillon and 10% other white grapes. It is rich, round and full bodied with honeyed tones, beeswax and stone-orchard fruits ripened by late-summer sun. It will transition out of the portfolio this year in favor of a Sauvignon Blanc, so if you can find it, grab it.

Arkenstone Estate 2020, Howell Mountain, Napa. This blend of 94% Sauvignon Blanc and the rest Sémillon is a nod to the wines of Pessac-Léognan, the area in Graves (Bordeaux) that is the spiritual home of this delicious blend. This one, sourced from six blocks on the rocky Howell Mountain AVA (Graves derives its name from the very gravelly soil there, so this is a good “look-alike”), is tropical-fruit-inflected with notes of honeydew melon and sweet Clementines. Pretty white flowers give this a lilt. Aging on the lees in concrete egg gives the wine its roundness.

Cormorant Vermentino “Fenaughty Vineyards” 2023 El Dorado County. A fresh white from a line of small-production and intentional wines from Charlie Gilmore. Unfiltered and made in a low-invention Old-World style, this wine is balanced and faithful to its Italian flavor profile—fresh, spright citrus and mouth-cleansing acidity that keeps the enamel on your teeth.

Ferrari-Carano Pinot Grigio 2023, California. This is a fun, crisp counterpart to some of the watered-down versions that got out there when the PG category took off. This one is easy going and citrus-fruit forward. Don’t think too much about this: take it to the beach or have it as an aperitif on your patio. The similarly styled Fume Blanc from the North Coast is Sauvy-B oriented, with a tropical twist, but carries a similar thread of easy, fresh fruit and fun to drink.

Groth Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2022, Oakville, Napa. This estate wine is another that is Pessac-Léognan inspired, driven by 89% Sauvignon Blanc, with Sémillon making up the remainder. It’s the producer’s first white wine to carry the Oakville appellation. Textured, expressing a bit of salinity, it takes you through the whole taste spectrum of ripe tropical fruits—from skin (particularly yellow nectarine) to juicy pulp. Serve it to those who usually shy away from the green-gooseberry profile.

Quintessa “Illumination” Sauvignon Blanc 2016. Grapes for this wine are sourced from a combination of vineyards—64% Napa and 36% Sonoma counties. Find expressions of white orchard fruits and some of the tropics thrown in there, too. The very seductive nose draws you in and the juicy textured fruits—ripe yellow apple and quince and lemon compote—keep you there. While fine to drink now (especially the 2016), if you can hold off drinking this until fall, you will be rewarded. The attractive bottle makes this a nice “plus one” for a dinner party.

LangeTwins Fume Blanc 2022, Jahant AVA, Lodi, California. This is made from Musqué, a musky, floral and very aromatic clone of Sauvignon Blanc, which, in the wrong hands, can get overblown and kind of garish. But, aging for six months in French and American neutral oak toned down the drama. This version has those green notes, but also friendly tropical fruit and peach flesh. Not really a “twin,” but a close sibling, is the light and easy Chenin Blanc from the Clarksburg AVA (Merrill Vineyard), featuring a bright citrus ping, layered with notes of melon and ripe orchard-fruit skin.

Ram’s Gate Pinot Blanc 2022, Carneros, (Sonoma). Stylistically, this is a terrific hybrid of Old World styles from two under-the-radar high-quality regions: Alsace in the northeast section of France and Alto Adige in Italy’s northeast. I am thinking of yellow apples and plums ripening on a sun-speckled country kitchen counter, preferably made of weathered soapstone. OK, I digress! But you get the idea: nuanced, elegantly simple (or simply elegant!), with a pretty honeyed note and the rich pulp of ripe apricots. This also is a good transitional wine for cooler temperatures.

Unshackled Sauvignon Blanc 2021, California. Separate but part of the Prisoner Wine Co., this is a very servicable SauvB for people who don’t gravitate toward the pungent green styles of Marlborough or even Chile. This one is round and expressing more on the tropical side of the fruit spectrum. The Domaine Curry Sauvignon Blanc 2023 (Napa) is a foray into estate wine after Constellation Brands, PWC’s parent, acquired it in 2023 and rebranded it. I don’t know if the winemaking also underwent a transformation, but this current vintage blends grapes from Wappo Hill in the Stag’s Leap District and River Oaks in Alexander Valley, giving a tropical-fruit-inflected and forceful interpretation of Sauvy-B.