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A VinePair report asked 10 sommeliers to name an underrated Sauvignon Blanc, drawing attention to bottles and regions outside the grape’s best-known labels. Recommendations include wines from Baja, Austria, Marlborough, the Loire Valley, Washington state and South Africa; the source material does not provide a complete list of all 10 responses.
VinePair’s 2026 report asked 10 sommeliers to name an underrated Sauvignon Blanc, with their answers pointing beyond the grape’s best-known regions and labels. The published recommendations include wines from Baja California, Austria, New Zealand, several Loire Valley appellations, Washington state and South Africa, offering readers alternatives to familiar Marlborough and Sancerre bottles.
The roundup is a collection of professional recommendations, not a blind tasting or a ranked list. The sommeliers describe bottles they believe merit more attention, citing factors such as freshness, texture, regional character and food pairing. The source material names eight recommendations or regional picks, although it says the report includes 10 sommeliers; the remaining responses are not available in the supplied text.
Jill Weber, owner of Jet Wine Bar in Philadelphia, recommends Casa Jipi Sauvignon Blanc from Baja, praising its fuller body alongside freshness, melon, jalapeño, orange citrus and salinity. Andrey Ivanov, beverage director at Nisei in San Francisco, points to Hannes Sabathi from Styria, Austria, where he says high-elevation growing conditions and vine-canopy management help shape aromatic wines.
Other picks span familiar and less familiar territory. Prrateek Chaudhary of Atlanta’s Pataaka names Sandy Cove from Marlborough as a vibrant, tropical option for Indian food. Thomas Price, a master sommelier at 1856 – Culinary Residence in Auburn, recommends Domaine du Salvard Cheverny Blanc, which he says includes 25 percent Chardonnay. New York sommelier Bodhi Landa singles out Hippolyte Reverdy Sancerre, while Brianna Ellis of Tannin Bar in Park City argues for Quincy. The supplied report also includes Pepper Bridge Winery in the Pacific Northwest and Paul Clüver Sauvignon Blanc 2025 from Elgin, South Africa.
Beyond Marlborough and Sancerre
The list matters to wine buyers because Sauvignon Blanc’s broad shelf presence can still leave consumers choosing among a relatively narrow set of well-known names. The sommeliers’ selections show how the grape can vary by region and winemaking choices, rather than presenting one style as definitive. Recommendations range from crisp, citrus-led wines to bottles described as fuller, more textured or tropical.
For restaurant diners, the picks also connect wine choice to food. Chaudhary recommends Sandy Cove with Indian cuisine, while Duchessa describes Paul Clüver as a companion to seafood. Landa suggests oysters, fresh goat cheese or green salad with the Hippolyte Reverdy Sancerre. These are individual professionals’ pairing suggestions, not claims that the bottles are universally available or suited to every dish.
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How the Picks Differ
The report frames its recommendations against the popularity of Marlborough, New Zealand, and Sancerre, France, which it says account for much of the attention given to Sauvignon Blanc. It also notes that the grape can produce markedly different expressions, from lean and mineral-driven wines to bolder examples with tropical fruit and herbal notes.
Some selections challenge assumptions about where to look. Weber says wine from Mexico is often overlooked and points to Baja; Ivanov highlights Austria’s Styria; Ellis draws attention to Quincy in the Loire Valley, which she says receives less discussion than Sancerre despite sharing qualities such as citrus, minerality and freshness. These are the sommeliers’ assessments, not comparative tasting results reported by VinePair.
“People tend to overlook wine from Mexico, which is a real shame!”
— Jill Weber, owner of Jet Wine Bar in Philadelphia
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What the Report Leaves Open
The supplied source text does not include all 10 sommeliers’ answers: it ends partway through a recommendation for Domaine Pellé Menetou-Salon Morogues Les Blanchais 2023 and Domaine Durand Sancerre, without the full accompanying comments. As a result, the complete set of responses and the reasoning behind those final picks cannot be confirmed from the material provided.
The report also does not establish that any bottle is objectively the most underrated. It presents expert opinions and tasting descriptions, without a common scoring method, price comparison, sales data or availability information. Vintage details are given for some wines but not all, and the source does not specify prices or whether the named bottles are currently stocked in a reader’s area.
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Check Bottles and Vintages
Readers interested in a specific recommendation can ask a local wine retailer or restaurant whether the producer and cited vintage are available. Because availability and vintages change, the names in the roundup should be treated as leads rather than a guarantee of current stock. The supplied report does not announce a follow-up tasting or further publication; no next milestone is stated.
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Key Questions
What is the main development in the report?
VinePair published a 2026 roundup in which 10 sommeliers were asked to identify an underrated Sauvignon Blanc. The supplied material names several picks but does not include all 10 full responses.
Which Sauvignon Blancs are named in the available source?
The supplied text names Casa Jipi from Baja, Hannes Sabathi from Austria, Sandy Cove from Marlborough, Domaine du Salvard Cheverny Blanc, Hippolyte Reverdy Sancerre, Sauvignon Blanc from Quincy, Pepper Bridge Winery Sauvignon Blanc and Paul Clüver Sauvignon Blanc 2025. It also begins naming Domaine Pellé Menetou-Salon Morogues Les Blanchais 2023 and Domaine Durand Sancerre, but their full entries are missing.
Did the sommeliers rank the wines?
No ranking is described in the source. The article presents individual recommendations rather than a scored tasting or a definitive winner.
Why did sommeliers recommend alternatives to Sancerre?
Several respondents point to other regions they believe receive less attention, including Quincy, Cheverny, Styria and Baja. Their comments emphasize differing styles and regional character; the report does not claim that these wines are objectively better than Sancerre.
Source: rss
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