Being “Basic” With Sterling Vintners Sauvignon Blanc

In my “who am I” caption for Instagram, I write that I am a Blogger, Influencer, Greatest Aunt Ever, and a Professional Scrapbooker. I wrote that for obvious reasons; I wanted to catch your eye and show you a human side. However, it’s all true. Most of the time you will find me, sitting in my house among my many crafting supplies, creating picture books for hours. Strange, somewhat farty, an excuse to why I am single, but all true. Is being a simple woman, wanting straight forward and honest dialog, no frills conversation, a beer and a pizza – and maybe a Netflix marathon – something I shouldn’t be doing?

Can’t I just be “basic”?

Urban Dictionary – disclosing to people, like my mother, what I’m talking about:

TOP DEFINITION

Basic

only interested in things mainstream, popular, and trending

Omg BAE is so basic. all she wants to do is drink pumpkin spice lattes and play candy crush.

#lame #boring #basic white girl #basic biatch #not cool

“Basic”, in the wine world, may mean you are not educated, scared of the unknown, have a boring palate, or just comfortable in the human portfolio you have created. Noses go up, judgements are thrown, and you may be axed by the Wine Mean Girls that are politely spitting into a dirty bucket. When studying anything at all, we learn to pull apart every aspect, become a true internal detective of sorts. When you spy into the life of a wine, be ready with overwhelming thoughts of geography, science, stories of generations of families, and so much more. Sensory overload at its best.

The other night I just wanted a white wine that would not talk back. Give me citrus, a little acidity, balance it all out in a bright bow, and call it a night. Here is what happened:

The Wine: Sterling Vintners Sauvignon Blanc, California
Why: I know I wanted a pretty fruit to the wine; hence the choice from Cali. However, with the tropical fruit, melon, and other stone fruits I received on my palate, it WAS balanced with a nice acidity. I didn’t want to go over the top with bracing acidity with something like a Riesling, or find layers of oak with something like a Chardonnay. What I figured this wine would deliver was that lovely melange of citrusy fruit, while crisping up the edges a bit.
It could have gone horribly wrong; Without acidity, this wine would have been a complete failure. I can’t stand when I open a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and get complete grassy grapefruit bombs. This is attractive to some, and maybe nice on a hot as hell day in the sun, but not when paired with food. I want to TASTE my food while enjoying my wine, and I want the wine to elevate my experience.
A deeper into the “why”; I’ve been craving sushi for weeks. If you follow me on any social, you know sushi is a diet staple. When wine and food becomes physically tangible, I’m in heaven. Sexy fattiness on my palate comes alive with acidity in a wine. Spicy wasabi becomes balanced and almost sweet with the fruit of Sauvignon Blanc. The weight of the body of the wine is perfect; not to transparent, but not putting me to sleep.
Secret Sushi Heaven; Takara Asian Bistro in Montclair. I may be blowing up my spot, but this place is solid.

This blog is about why we make choices; in wine, life, or what may stir your mind. Are those choices always complicated? Are the elementary actions we all do every day something to dismiss, or something to celebrate? Do life behaviours always need to be extreme? Your wine choices definitely do not. Sure, this “simple” wine was great, but can we find the “basic” in the small production, expensive as hell, highly allocated and sought after wines? Well, guess who is going to try to make that happen…