California
Sauvignon Blanc Day: California Edition
For International Sauvignon Blanc Day, look to the Golden State for bottles that are both splurges and bargains, but all very tasty.
Sauvignon Blanc has firm footing in California
Everyone knows California for its Cabernet Sauvignons, but did you know about its other Sauvignon?
The grape’s spiritual home may be in France (Bordeaux, Loire Valley), but it’s fasting finding footing in the Golden State. Sauvignon Blanc was first planted in California in the Livermore Valley in the 19th century and today is the fourth leading white grape variety in the state, according to the Wine Institute, an advocacy group for the Californian wine industry. After being at a plateau for several years, California producers crushed 160,834 tons of the grape in 2023, a 22.7% increase from 2022, and representing an all-time high since 1990, when the data were first reported.
The 2023 edition of the Silicon Valley Bank’s State of the U.S. Wine Industry Report reported Sauvignon Blanc was the only variety that did not experience a downward trend, instead, increasing in growth by 1.5%. Shanken’s IMPACT Databank, a wine and spirits industry monitor, reported sales of wine made from the zesty grape rose 1.2 percent to 16.6 million cases in 2022.
Having some FOMO because you’re still drinking from elsewhere? Fear not! Here are a few bottles to get you started on International Sauvignon Day.
Arkenstone Estate Reserve 2017, Howell Mountain, Napa Valley. This estate reserve was well worth the trouble I had opening it, chipping away at its wax seal with tools usually used for household repairs. But, once accomplished, it was a deep, rich, opulent wine of honied yellow fruits, savory and uplifted by an herbal undertone. Wild and exotic and very intriguing.
Arkenstone Estate 2020, Howell Mountain, Napa Valley. Considerably easier to open than its wax-topped older sister, but also not as savvy. But this wine will grow into itself. Right now, it’s open and pleasant (like most little sisters), with 6% Sémillon playing nice with the Sauvignon. Straight forward, well balanced, technically well made. Farmed organically.
Brandlin, Mount Veeder 2021, Napa Valley. Ages 11 months in French oak, but doesn’t taste it! A lean version that paired will with smoked shrimp. A generous fruit profile—tropical and pleasing; sophisticated and nuanced. New World vibe, and a danceable beat.
Chalk Hill 2022, Chalk Hill AVA, Russian River Valley (Sonoma). This is a plush, creamy, tropical-inflected New World style with ripe and lush fruit—guava, melon. A winning bottle for those don’t care for the greener styles. Estate bottled.
Cliff Lede 2022, Napa Valley. Lively and carrying the typical zesty SauvyB markers, but this has the roundness from a bit of Sémillon blended in, giving it more of an Old World vine than new. The grapes were sourced from their estate vineyards in Calistoga, Stags Leap District, and Carneros—all known for their elegance and quality—plus grapes sourced from an old-vine vineyard in East Rutherford and another in Calistoga that provided old vine Sémillon. All that is to say, it’s really a perfect blending of Old and New World: nuanced, fresh, a bit deeper and some of that floral, tropical fruit component.
Cormorant 2021, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma. A pretty, creamy, yellow-fruited wine that will please people who do not care for the greener versions, though this does have a lime edge to keep things interesting. Ripe, medium bodied, enjoy this on its own or with roasted branzino or sauced fish.
“Sauvy B” is on the A-List of whites from California
Fiddlehead Cellars La Presa Vineyard 2022, Los Olivos District (Santa Barbara). Warm, creaming and nutty, tropical inflected with sweeter rips, lush juicy fruits, particularly melon. Tangy, zesty and snappy!
Groth Vineyards & Winery 2022, Oakville, Napa Valley. This estate-bottled wine is another successful Sauvignon-driven (89%) blend with Sémillon, this one delivering a freshly picked citrus fruit bowl: pink grapefruit, Clementines and Meyer lemon, along with a basket of stone fruit—nectarine and peaches. Throw in some white florals and a hint of earthy Celtic salt and you’ve got a wine that will satisfy everyone at the table. Despite everything going on in this wine, it is balanced and direct.
Quintessa, “Illumination” 2016. A blend of Napa (64%) and Sonoma county vineyards, this is a bottle from an esteemed producer better known for its Cabs, but that has delivered an exceptional and complex Sauvy B. There’s that New World style tropical fruit vibe of melon and guava, but also ripe peach and, beeswax and a mineral streak that drives it forward and keeps the fruit from getting too blousy. Intriguing and full of layers that keep evolving.
Silver Puffs 2020, California (Napa). Great affordable Tuesday-night wine, on the round and ripe tropical-fruit spectrum with peaches and melons, no aggressive greenness. This is a zesty, pleasant sip names for a California wildflower; grapes sourced from the Miller Ranch vineyard.
Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars “Aveta” 2021, Napa Valley. Named for the Gaelic water goddess, this gives plenty of grapefruit, roasted pineapple and other tropical fruits. A bit lactic—you can taste and feel the roundness of the lees—it is pleasing in every way. Round, juicy and full.
The Paring 2021, California. Another smooth, round bottle in with plenty of pineapple, mango. Not sweet-fruited, but ripe and full without losing its balance of fruit, acid and alcohol. Delicious.
California
Northern California county reports measles outbreak with 8 cases
Public health officials say they’ve identified a total of eight measles cases in Shasta County as contact tracing continues.
The cases are linked to one first identified Jan. 30, with Shasta County Health and Human Services officials saying all seven new cases involve close contacts of that person.
Officials noted that the new patients all isolated before they became possibly contagious.
“Our public health teams want to thank the individuals affected, those who were exposed, and our community as a whole for working closely with our staff and following public health guidance. Your quick action and support have helped us manage this outbreak and continue protecting our community,” said Shasta County Public Health Director Katie Cassidy in a statement.
California has seen a total of 17 confirmed measles cases in 2026, with Napa County recently seeing its first case in nearly 15 years.
Across the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control reports a total of 733 confirmed measles cases in 20 states so far in 2026. Along with the more than 2,400 measles cases in 2025, the U.S. is reportedly poised to lose its “measles-free” classification from the Pan American Health Organization.
Contact tracing is still underway in Shasta County for people who may have been in the following areas and times:
-Ninja Coalition, 900 Dana Drive on January 23 from 2:30 to 5:20 p.m.
-An informal, outdoor capture the flag sport event at Highland Neighborhood Park, 555 Mill Valley Parkway, Redding, on January 23 from noon to 4 p.m.
-Osaka Sushi, 1340 Churn Creek Rd., on January 23 from 6:30 to 10 p.m.
-A gym basketball game at the former CrossPointe Community Church, 2960 Hartnell Ave., Redding on January 24 from 1:45 to 5 p.m.
-Costco, 4805 Bechelli Lane, Redding, on January 24 from 6:30 to 9 p.m.
-Churn Creek HealthCare clinic, 3184 Churn Creek Road, Redding, on January 28 from 1:45 to 5 p.m.
California
Judge blocks California mask ban for federal agents
Trump on immigration: ‘We can use a little bit of a softer touch’
In an interview with NBC News, President Donald Trump said his administration “can use a little bit of a softer touch” when it comes to immigration.
A federal judge has blocked California from enforcing a new law that would ban federal immigration agents and other law enforcement officers from wearing face coverings.
The Department of Justice sued to strike down the ban in November after it was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September. In a ruling on Feb. 9, U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder preliminarily struck down the law and upheld another California law that requires federal officers to display their identification while performing their official duties.
The Trump administration hailed the ruling as a win, with Attorney General Pam Bondi calling it a “key court victory.” The DOJ argued in the lawsuit that immigration agents “face a real threat of criminal liability from state officials who have made clear their intent to target federal officers and disrupt federal law enforcement activities, including federal immigration enforcement.”
“These federal agents are harassed, doxxed, obstructed, and attacked on a regular basis just for doing their jobs. We have no tolerance for it,” Bondi said in her statement on Feb. 9.
Newsom also counted the ruling to uphold the identification law as “a clear win for the rule of law,” and said “no badge and no name mean no accountability.”
In the ruling, Snyder said that the federal government would likely prove the mask ban to be unconstitutional because it treated state officers differently than federal officers; the law included local law enforcement officers and federal officers but not state officers.
The ruling comes as political tension is heightened over President Donald Trump’s surge of immigration enforcement actions in primarily Democratic-led states and cities. Weeks of protests have spread nationally after federal officers fatally shot two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, in Minneapolis, where the administration recently announced the departure of hundreds of immigration enforcement personnel. In videos and photos, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agents are routinely seen wearing face coverings while conducting operations, making arrests and clashing with protesters.
Los Angeles has also been a target for enhanced immigration enforcement, which sparked protests that at times turned violent last summer.
Scott Wiener, the state senator who introduced the mask ban, said in a statement that he will introduce new legislation to include state officers, and said the ruling demonstrates that California has the right to block officers from covering their faces if state officers are included.
“Today’s federal court ruling is a huge win: The Court ruled that California has the power to protect our community by banning officers, including federal agents, from wearing masks and thus inflicting terror and shielding themselves from accountability,” Wiener, a Democrat whose area of representation includes San Francisco, said.
“ICE and Border Patrol are covering their faces to maximize their terror campaign and to insulate themselves from accountability. We won’t let them get away with it,” Wiener said.
Contributing: Reuters
California
After US Judge Blocks California’s ICE Mask Ban, Scott Wiener Says He Will Make It Enforceable | KQED
He continued: “People do not want masked law enforcement in their communities, people want to be able to see who is patrolling their communities, people understand that if ICE and any other law enforcement wear ski masks, that creates an atmosphere of impunity and terror, and prevents accountability.”
But it’s not clear if Newsom would sign such a bill. In response to the ruling, his press office wrote on social media, “Mr. Wiener rejected our proposed fixes to his bill — language that was later included in the identification bill the court upheld today. He chose a different approach, and today the court found his approach unlawful.”
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi celebrated the ruling on X, calling it “ANOTHER key court victory.”
“Following our arguments, a district court in California BLOCKED the enforcement of a law that would have banned federal agents from wearing masks to protect their identities,” Bondi wrote. “We will continue fighting and winning in court for President Trump’s law-and-order agenda.”
In court on Monday, Snyder dismissed several arguments the Trump administration has made to justify why agents should be allowed to mask.
She noted that there are no federal laws or regulations that require federal law enforcement officers to wear facial coverings or conceal their identity, and “in fact, some federal laws and regulations require visible identification in certain circumstances.”
Historically, she noted, federal officers have not been masked.
Snyder also found that the federal government “has not met its burden to show that enforcement of the challenged provisions … would interfere with or take control of federal law enforcement operations,” — comparing them to traffic laws that dictate how a federal officer may drive on state roads.
And she rejected the argument that bills will put officers at risk of attacks and physical harm, noting that the potential harms cited in court — including doxing, threats and assault — are all crimes themselves.
“A rule that prohibits law enforcement officers from wearing masks or requires them to have visible identification does not facilitate or enable criminals to harm law enforcement officers,” she wrote. To the contrary, she added later, the “presence of masked and unidentifiable individuals, including law enforcement, is more likely to heighten the sense of insecurity for all.”
And in a clear rebuke to statements made by Vice President JD Vance and others after the Minneapolis shootings, Snyder noted that, “The law is clear that federal officers do not have absolute immunity from state prosecution.”
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