WINERY McCall Wines, 22600 Route 25, Cutchogue, 631-734-5764, mccallwines.com
WINEMAKER Gilles Martin
Wine 2025 Sauvignon Blanc
GRAPES 100% sauvignon blanc
PRICE $28
FAVE FOOD PAIRING Anything that comes from the ocean
In high July, it’s hard to find the words to capture what you see, smell and feel around you. That sun-soaked warmth you feel under your bare feet from the earth on the grass or the hot sand; the pleasantly squinty reflection of late-day rays bouncing off the water from the deck of a boat or ferry or just from the perch of a blanket on the beach; the salty-spray smell of the water on your skin after a swim in the bay, sound, or ocean; the warmth of the air like some invisible, silky seasonal hug. It’s a dreamy time of year. Capturing all that in a glass? That’s a pretty neat feat.
The 2025 McCall Sauvignon Blanc employs only estate-grown fruit and highlights its zippy, seafood-loving acidity and crispness with a cold fermentation in stainless steel tanks and with the choice of winemaker Gilles Martin to avoid malolactic fermentation. In a nutshell, a tool winemakers can employ when they would like to soften the edges (that is, the malic acid, which offers that same “oooh!” component found in green apples) by converting it to lactic acid (like the creamy feel of milk).
Here, though, that zippy feel on your tongue is what adds to this wine’s refreshing, quenching, breezy feel — and what makes it so very perfect right now.
“I love this wine,” says Miguel Martin, general manager at McCall Wines. “Our sauvignon blanc has a distinctive bouquet, minerality and flinty notes. This wine beautifully expresses the nuances of our maritime climate: crisp, balanced acidity with flavors of lime, grapefruit and passion fruit.”
What to have it with? Well, pretty much any scenario described above. But if you’re looking for pairing ideas, Martin, who suggests serving it at around 50-55° F, offers this: “Anything coming from the ocean! Scallops, oysters, tuna, ceviche, as well as sushi and spicy dishes with cilantro or basil,” he says. “Goat cheese and sauvignon blanc is a perfect match, too!”
