Wine of the week: Rodney Strong Vineyards, 2019 Charlotte’s Home, Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc

Extreme weather is the great unknown, the variable that’s incredibly unnerving this harvest.

“I think this vintage has highlighted several blind spots in our knowledge base,” said Justin Seidenfeld, director of winemaking of Healdsburg’s Rodney Strong Vineyards. “The whole community is now united on the need for more research and development to learn about the relationship between fire and smoke and winemaking and grape growing.

Seidenfeld is behind our wine of the week winner — the Rodney Strong Vineyards, 2019 Charlotte’s Home, Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc at $17. This layered sauvignon blanc has it all. It has exceptional balance, it’s aromatic, it has high-toned fruit and it finishes crisp. It's refreshing, with notes of grapefruit, lemon and lime zest. A steal for the price, this impressive sauvignon blanc is extremely well crafted.

Other tasty sauvignon blancs include: Rombauer Vineyards, 2019 Napa County, Sonoma County, $24; Clockwise, 2019 Russian River Valley Sauvignon Blanc, $30; Sonoma Collection, 2019 Sonoma Valley Sauvignon Blanc, $20, and Priest, 2019 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc, $22.

As for the winning sauvignon blanc, Seidenfeld said he’s trying to impress all wine drinkers, not just those fond of sauvignon blanc.

“Our house style comes from what our vineyards provide us,” he said. “I like to make wines that show the greatness of Sonoma County. I then bring in tried-and-true winemaking techniques from the great wineries of Bordeaux and a large stable of yeasts to provide different fruit characters and mouthfeel.”

Sauvignon blanc, Seidenfeld said, is a challenging grape to bottle because it’s a transparent wine.

“Any flaw, no matter how small, will be noticeable,” he said. “So we have to pay extra close attention to every detail.”

Sauvignon blanc, the winemaker said, is a varietal that needs to be tamed.

“Sauvignon blanc is a vigorous grape variety when growing in the vineyard,” he said. “The relationship between winemaker and grape grower is very important to make great sauvignon blanc.”

Seidenfeld, 37, graduated from UC Davis in 2006 with a degree in viticulture and enology. His credits include Napa Valley’s Robert Mondavi Winery and Sonoma County’s Iron Horse Vineyards. He joined Rodney Strong Vineyards about a decade ago.

“I was attracted to winemaking because of the balance of nature, science and people,” Seidenfeld explained. “I like seeing what I’m making and watching how it affects other people. The Nobel Prize winner Saul Bellow said ‘Unexpected intrusions of beauty — that’s what life is.’ Making wine embodies that perfectly.”

But unexpected intrusions in winemaking can be challenging.

The winery may face a penalty for a Jan. 22 accident in which a racking door of a storage tank burst open, spilling 97,000 gallons of cabernet sauvignon, some of which polluted the Russian River. That’s on top of the coronavirus pandemic and the recent wildfires.

“The fires have been very difficult for me personally, having lost my home in the Tubbs fire of 2017,” Seidenfeld said. “I think that the hardest part of making wine this year was working with the unknown. We have experienced many firsts this year. So there is no playbook to go back to for guidance.”

Wine writer Peg Melnik can be reached at peg.melnik@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5310.