The adage of a cold white wine on a hot day seems even more apropos during peak summer heat. This week’s Tasting Highlights features California whites well-suited to cool off with. This cornucopia of tasty white wines from Napa, Santa Barbara and beyond is ready to imbibe now, and several are easy on the wallet, priced as low as $15.
Among the top-scoring wines is Demetria’s elegant and expressive white Rhône style Cuvée Papou – a blend of Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, and Marsanne – all of which grow on the rolling hillsides at the winery’s estate vineyard in Santa Ynez Valley. Founded by Greek-born John Zahoudanis and his wife Sandra, Demetria is now run by their son, Alexis, along with director of viticulture and winemaking, Ryan Roark. Roark ages the wine in oak barrels for ten months, with only twenty percent new, rounding out the complexity without overcoming the fresh tangerine and pear flavors.
Also featured are Napa Valley's St. Supéry's mouthwatering Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley 2024 and the bright and refreshing Priest Ranch Grenache Blanc Napa Valley 2024. Read on to get our scores and full expert tasting notes for all of these refreshing Golden State white wines!
Tasting Highlights’ wine reviews are fresh out of the tasting room, offering a sneak peek of our editors’ most recent ratings—including scores and full tasting notes—to WineSpectator.com members
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