I often go to these great wine dinners at the Ritz called Phenomenal Femmes. They always feature a few wines made by a female winemaker, who comes to the dinner to talk about each of the wines we drink with incredible courses.

Last week’s winery was Quintessa, an established winery in Napa whose winemaker is Rebekah Wineburg (Can you believe her last name??? Destiny!). They’re known for their Cabernets, and we were having four of them, so I was surprised that one of my favorite wines of the night was the Sauvignon Blanc! The 2014 Illumination Sauvignon Blanc was bursting with lush pink grapefruit and tons of acid. It was just one of those wines that you take a sip of and just think is completely delicious. There’s actually some Semillon in this too (full breakdown is  52% Sauvignon Blanc Musqué, 32% Sauvignon Blanc, 16% Semillon) which is often blended into Sauv Blanc to give it some structure and waxy texture. You can get the Illumination for about $40 (here) which is a lot more affordable than many of their Cabs. 

The chef paired it with hamachi crudo, heirloom tomatoes, avocado cream, and coriander lime vinaigrette. Awesome pairing for Sauvignon Blanc. 

Marika Vida is the wine director at the Ritz and hosts a number of the Phenomenal Femmes dinners throughout the year. You can see what’s coming up here (the next will be in the fall). I also love that they give part of the proceeds go to the Women’s Shelter at Crossroads Community Services at St. Bart’s church in NYC. #phenomenal!