Callaway Sauvignon Blanc
2007
A bright bouquet you might not expect of a wine from southern CA - intense citrus, Granny Smith apple skins and kiwi fruit. This well-crafted, medium-bodied dry wine has lively grapefruit flavors touched by fresh grassy notes and a clean crisp finish.
89
$12.00 / Bottle $144.00 / Case
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Additional Information
An above par wine! When Callaway Winery was founded back in 1969, people thought Ely Callaway was crazy to plant wine grapes in Southern California.
Callaway Vineyards in Temecula Valley in the wintertime, waiting to be pruned.
Mr. Callaway (of golf fame) was convinced that the area would produce premium wines. He didn’t go into this endeavor blindly; with veteran viticulturalist John Moramarco he conducted extensive research all over California before settling on Temecula.
They found the ideal spot to plant vines on a plateau located 1600 feet above the Pacific Ocean below the peaks of the South Coastal Mountains. A break in the mountains known as the Rainbow Gap allows cool fog inland in the mornings and the warm sun in the afternoon. The unique microclimate produced by the combination of cool coastal air, warm air from the east and bright southern Californian sunshine are ideal for producing wine grapes.
Ely Callaway discovered a great spot for wine and today Temecula Valley is home to over twenty wineries!
Callaway’s winemaking philosophy is focused on longer fermentation at lower temperatures to preserve natural acidity and the fruit’s flavors. The head winemaker, Bela Varga brings a lot of experience to the winery.
Varga graduated from the University of Budapest with a master’s degree in Enology and Viticulture in 1988. He scaled barbed wire fences to escape his native Hungary before the Iron Curtain came down. He ended up in Canada where he worked for Vincor and later moved to the States where he worked in Washington and California.
Bela’s winemaking philosophy is pretty straightforward, he focuses on "accentuating the varietal character, utilizing the best properties the fruit can offer throughout the entire winemaking process. Everything else - oak aging, blending, etc., is secondary..." says Varga. This unoaked Sauvignon Blanc is an example of the purity he strives for.