Wine of the week: Rickshaw Sauvignon Blanc California 2018

Rickshaw’s sauvignon blanc shows it’s still possible to find quality California wine that offers value at a price we can all afford

Once upon a time, in a wine world far different from ours, sauvignon blanc was made in a variety of styles. French winemakers took a couple of approaches – one in Bordeaux and one in the Loire. New Zealand wines, new to the market, featured what would become its trademark grapefruit style.

In California, the same grape produced a decidedly different wine, with less minerality than France and hardly any grapefruit. The wines were aromatic, with lemongrass and what we used to call “freshly mowed lawn,” and the fruit was more lemon than anything else.

Today, though you can still find some of the French style if you’re willing to pay for it, it’s almost impossible to find the California style. Most producers, and especially at the blog’s prices, make New Zealand-style sauvignon blanc and leave it at that (unless they sweeten the wine up).

Which is why I was so excited to find this previous vintage of the Rickshaw ($12, purchased, 13.5%) at a Dallas retailer.

This is classic California sauvignon blanc, and if it’s a little short in the back, chalk it up to age. The 2020 bottle in the link shouldn’t have that problem. This is a delicious, well-made, and fairly priced white wine. It has those California cut grass aromas, as well as some stoniness and citrus fruit that is more lemon than grapefruit. And it’s very fresh, despite its age.

Highly recommended, and I say this even though Rickshaw wines have always been kind of geeky, aimed more at restaurants than at retailers (and its more expensive label mate, Banshee, is even geekier). And yes, I know the brand has been sold to a burgeoning Big Wine company; so far, though, so good.

Chill this wine, bring it out for fall barbecues or spaghetti and clam sauce, and be glad someone in California is thinking about quality at this price.