Honig Cellars

HONIG CELLARS IS smack-dab in the middle of Napa Valley’s premium wine-making acreage. The flourishing vineyards of co-owner Bill Honig, state superintendent of schools, are cheek-by-jowl with the famed vineyards of Grgich Hills, Caymus and Freemark Abbey Red Barn Ranch.

Although Honig Cellars is a low-profile winery, its Sauvignon Blancs have made a name for themselves among knowledgeable wine lovers. You don’t have to worry whether these fine Sauvignon Blancs will taste like a tropical fruit salad or smell like a cabbage patch , as do inferior varietals. Honig’s are just wonderful, whether you’re serving them with shrimp, chicken or ground round.

Recently, I sampled the 1988 Sauvignon Blanc ($8.75). Its haunting delicacy was reminiscent of les amandes verte , “green almonds” that I had plucked from almond trees at my Apple Valley ranch years ago. Also, the wine had hints of lemon and toffee. Wholly beguiling. (For the curious, the labels on the Sauvignon Blancs feature a vista of vineyards rows framed by Gothic tracery of picture windows that were salvaged from a Bay Area church.)

Since 1987, Honig wines have included Chardonnay from its 65 acres of those vines. The 1988 Chardonnay ($15), of which only 800 cases were made, is of a deeper golden hue from its 100% barrel-fermentation in Limousin, Vosges and Nevers oak. Complex layers of apple and peach flavors gently mingle with toasty overtones in this round, well-balanced wine. It’s another splendid wine to offer guests, particularly with red snapper or breaded catfish filets.

Also, an ’87 Cabernet Sauvingnon from 17 acres of his vine is a wine to watch for in October, when it will be released. It’ll be Honig’s first vintage of Cabernets. Previously, it had been selling the premium grapes to other wineries.

Honig’s son Michael, 28, and Michael’s wife, Elaine, distribute the wines in California. The wine maker is James Hall, who graduated from UC Davis with a degree in enology and gained experience as an assistant wine maker at Flora Springs Winery in St. Helena.