*** I received this wine as a sample. ***

The week of July 4th is usually a quiet workweek for me because there is no legislative activity while Congress is in recess.  All of the Members of Congress are back in their states and districts catching up on things at home, meeting with constituents, fundraising, and spending time with their families, while their DC staffers are trying to catch-up on the things that were left undone while the bosses were in town—meetings, returning emails and phone calls, reading through papers, and so on.  I’m still trying to get into the rhythm of what recess means for me now that I’m no longer on Capitol Hill, although I don’t think this week was a good time to experiment, as my three days in the office were jammed packed not only reading legislation that will be introduced in July and going to meetings with both House and Senate staffers, but also returning emails and phone calls that piled up during the hectic month of June and preparing for my new boss to start on July 15th.  I came home from work every day exhausted, even bailing on the Wednesday happy hour I was supposed to attend to kick-off my four-day holiday weekend.  The thing is, even though it’s particularly busy for me right now, I’m loving every moment of it, and while I was sorry to miss the happy hour, starting the long weekend with a bottle of white wine and decompressing with Hubby on the couch was perfect.

The 2012 SIMI Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc (winery) is made with 97% Sauvignon Blanc, 2% Semillon, and 1% Viognier grapes and is from Sonoma County, California.  The wine was a light straw yellow.  On the nose, there were peaches and fresh cut grass mixed with lemon zest, yellow grapefruits, and hints of honeysuckle.  In the mouth, there was grass, apricots, and hints of limes, yellow grapefruit, and wet stone.  The wine had a light body and nice acidity.

Is this worth a glass after work?  It’s worth more than one!  What are you waiting for?  At an SRP of $14, this wine has an amazing quality/price ration.  It offered something a little different from what I expect from a Sauvignon Blanc (probably because of the small amounts of Semillon and Viognier), but those differences were a nice change from the one-dimensional, overly-grassy Sauvignon Blancs that currently dominate the market.  The wine was a wonderful pairing for the grilled pesto shrimp and sautéed corn that Hubby made for dinner.  In fact, I enjoyed the wine so much, before I realized it, the evening had gotten quite late and the entire bottle was gone.  Clearly, I was relaxing and enjoying it!

Question of the Day: Are you a Sauvignon Blanc drinker?  Do you have a favorite?

Suggested Retail Price: $14
Received as a sample.
Overall: 4.5 Corks