Wine of the Week: 2017 Smith Story Wine Cellars, Sauvignon Blanc, Sonoma County ($25)

The top winner? The five-star rated show stopper –– the Smith Story, 2017 Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc

The Smith Story is buoyed with bright acidity and infused with notes of lime, lemon and mineral. It’s light on its feet – ballet as opposed to tap.

The vintners, Eric Story and Ali Smith, work with consulting winemaker Katy Wilson, and they said their mission is to craft a mineral-driven sauvignon blanc. The vintners decided they wouldn’t produce a sauvignon blanc unless they found vineyards that were similar in soil/rock and climate to France’s Loire Valley. “If we could drink wines from Dagueneau every day we would,” Alison said. “The late Didier and his son (the current winemaker) have set the bar in our mind, one we hope to achieve one day for the Smith Story, too. Didier Dagueneau was a winemaker in the Loire Valley who produced sauvignon blanc from the Pouilly Fumé appellation and he had a cult following.

Eric, 41, spent 18 years at K&L Wine Merchants in Northern California, with the last eight as the wine buyer for German, Loire, Alsace, Austria and Greek wine imports. He caught the wine bug while backpacking through Europe and took the leap into winemaking in 2002. Ali’s expertise is in hospitality, consumer marketing and national sales. The couple met at K&L and founded Smith Story Wine Cellars in 2013.

While the Smith Story sauvignon blanc will delight veggie burger fans, Ali said there are limitless possibilities in store with the wine.“Our favorite pairing with our sauvignon blanc” Ali said, “is a good conversation, a nice wine glass and a comfy chair.”

Wine writer Peg Melnik