My guess is that people ITB know a bit better than me on what will make them the most money.
And has been said above-cash flow.
Greg you were on such a role why did you add punctuation to break up the flow?
Here are some things to think about with why SB over Cab.
-It yields about a third more juice per ton (and we are talking good quality too)
-As noted above, it’s not always aged in barrel, cutting the cost. A lot of aged SB is also done in used barrel too, also cheaper.
-It can be on the market in under a year, versus 2+ for Cabernet
-SB can grow in places where Cabernet can’t. A lot of the plantings along the Napa River are SB. Round Pond is sort of the best example.
Another way to look at it too is that it’s cheaper to make than Chardonnay, since you get less juice per ton and you need to use barrels.
Some recent releases of Haut Brion blanc have sold for more than the red.
Agreeing with all of the economic answers, I’ll also add that they’ve gotten pretty good at it. There’s some awesome Napa SB out there, and it’s a refreshing change from the overly grassy/herbal style of SB from New Zealand or Sonoma.
Calif SB way too sweet imo.
I’ve never had one that I enjoy. Too sweet and too ripe. I’d imagine that if there was one I’d like it wouldn’t be in Napa but somewhere with a much cooler climate. At that point though it falls into the classic camp of “why bother, when Loire SB is so inexpensive?” In truth I don’t even drink much Loire SB these days, but do enjoy Sancerre when I buy it or the occasional white BDX. What I look for though is razor acidity and a ton of freshness, so the idea of ripe SB makes no sense to me.
That’s what I expected, too. However, I find some of the Napa producers to be making it more in the Sancerre style than others in California. It’s the opposite of how I find Napa Zin, which I generally don’t like relative to Dry Creek styles.
to dig back for this thread: because Wine Enthusiast still puts Mondavi Fume Blanc at #32 on its top 100 list
Why do people in Burgundy still do gamay
i think they just like the way Passetoutgrain looks on a label.
I did one sauv blanc primarily for use in dinners and because a great opportunity presented itself. Personally, I really liked it and put a few cases away for myself to enjoy. It’s a 2012 from Yountville and still drinking very well. If the same basic opportunity came up again, I’d be all over it. Then again, it is bone dry, aged in used french oak and not overripe.
For my tastes, several of the higher end Napa Cab producers makes stellar SBs, much higher quality than their Cabs. Basically, their $85 SBs have everything I love about classic Napa CS in them, while their $175 Cabs are dull. Vibrant aromatics, good acid, compact, just enough of a pyrazine pop vs dull, flat, muddy denseness, bleh. So, maybe they make them because they’re a reasonable facsimile of what they wish they could get away with doing with the offspring.
Mayacamas makes (made?) a really good SB. Haven’t seen it around in quite a while though and wine-searcher doesn’t show anything recent.