Sauvignon Blanc, Sonoma County

The Kunde family has farmed the same 1,850-acre Sonoma Valley estate since 1904, giving them over a century of site knowledge across dramatically varied soils and elevations. Sauvignon Blanc vines planted on the estate's Chalk Hill-influenced volcanic ash soils — lighter, well-drained, and heat-retentive — produce grapes with concentrated aromatics and naturally firm acidity that cooler coastal appellations rarely achieve at this price point. Fermentation takes place entirely in stainless steel, a deliberate choice to preserve the variety's primary fruit character and herbaceous lift without any oak interference; no malolactic conversion is pursued, keeping the wine's natural tartaric structure intact. What sets this expression apart within California Sauvignon Blanc is the estate-only sourcing: every grape comes from Kunde's own certified sustainable vineyards, eliminating the blended-county sourcing common at this tier. The wine is built for early drinking, showing its most vivid citrus and stone-fruit character within one to three years of vintage.