INSIDER'S PICK: 2013 MARGERUM WINE CO. SAUVIGNON BLANC 'SYBARITE' HAPPY CANYON (VINOUS 91points) $19.99

Another vintage, another great effort for this Sauvignon Blanc from an up-and-coming growing region that's just about to become 'known'. Happy Canyon sits at the Eastern edge of Santa Barbara County and is one of the warmer areas in the region, which would lead one to believe that their wines would be bigger and more over the top in style. However, their soils are mostly very low in nutrients which reduces the plant's natural growth vigor, and high mineral content brings a lot of natural vibrancy to the juice. The region has only been producing wine since 2001, one of the newest to viticulture in the state, and only achieved an AVA in 2009, so the potential is still relatively untapped. Doug Margerum started his winery in 2001 and as the head of  the internationally known restaurant The Wine Cask in Santa Barbara his knowledge of local vineyards lead him to be among the first to feature fruit from this region. 

Since we first received access to the Margerum wines this has been by far the most consistent and popular from vintage to vintage. Easy on the traditional grassy or grapefruit aromas, this shows more cooler white fruits like pear or zesty melon, almost minty in the background. On the palate the wine goes full on Loire with racy, penetrating minerality that's extremely rare in California, but as the wine opens up the full ripe fruit comes forward to make the palate more quenching with a vibrant lime note finish. A fantastic food wine with all kinds of seafood preparations