Ferrari Carano winemaker uses 'sunflecks' in grapes

In 1995 Sarah Quider was an intern at Ferrari Carano when she was bewitched.

She fell under the spell of wine's aromas and flavors, and the rush of harvest; she has worked in the wine industry ever since.

Quider is behind our wine-of-the-week winner -- the Ferrari Carano 2010 Sonoma County Fume Blanc, a steal at $15.

"Our fume blanc is a very fruit-forward style . . . We open up the canopy within our vineyard to introduce 'sunflecks' onto the grape clusters," Quider said. "This way we can achieve more tropical aromas and flavors in the wine."

Quider said Ferrari Carano can make the fume blanc at the affordable price point of $15 because it doesn't require a lot of barrel and aging costs like chardonnay and red wines do.

"We stainless steel ferment the majority of the fruit and use neutral barrels that we previously used for our chardonnay programs," Quider said. "We also blend and bottle this wine within four to five months after we harvest the fruit."

What don't the uninitiated know about fume blanc?

Quider said they don't know that fume blanc and sauvignon blanc are the same grape variety -- that both are made from the sauvignon blanc grape.

Fume blanc is a marketing term that was created by the late vintner Robert Mondavi in the 1960s. While "fume" translates to "smoke," the fume in fume blanc doesn't refer to smoky flavors in the wine. Rather, it refers to the morning fog that covers the Loire Valley in France, which is said to be thick as smoke. Any smoke-like flavors in the wine come from the aging process in oak barrels and are not inherent in the grape.

"It is still very confusing to some consumers who don't know that sauvignon blanc and fume blanc are the same grape variety," Quider said. "From the very first vintage of this varietal, we have always used the term fume blanc and will continue to do so because we have an established wine that people know and enjoy."