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Sauvignon Blanc is the 2nd most popular white wine, close behind Chardonnay. It is also known as Fumé Blanc, this white wine grape that is grown in France,California and New Zealand. It's also grown in Italy, eastern Europe, Australia, and South America.

Sauvignon Blanc is an aromatic white with high acidity. It is known for its sharply etched flavor profile and crisp nature. It is usually light to medium-bodied but will pick up more weight if it is put into a barrel. The lighter style has flavors of apple, citrus and melon and is often described as grassy or herbaceous while the full-bodied Sauvignon Blanc is more robust and complex. They are crip, flavorful wines that generally should be drunk young.

The best of the French wines made from 100 percent Sauvignon Blanc grapes are produced in the Loire Valley at Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume. They are crisp and tart, sometimes with a noticeable flinty characteristic. The elegant dry wines from Bordeaux, primarily from Graves, are a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and sémillon that's been aged in oak barrels. The Sémillon rounds out the flavor and provides additional structure, enabling these wines to age for decades.

In California, Robert Mondavi raised Sauvignon Blanc's popularity when he introduced an oaky-styled Sauvignon Blanc that he named Fumé Blanc. Now the second best-selling varietal in California after Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc wines are made in a variety of additional styles-from those that are crisp and unoaked to Sémillon blends. Steps have been taken over the last decade to lessen the pronounced grassy characteristic of California's Sauvignon Blancs. This grape is also known as Blanc Fumé, Sauvignon Jaune, and Sauvignon Musqué.