Wine to try this spring: Ferrari Carano Fume Blanc

Let’s talk about a wine that happens to be one of my favorites, but has a little bit of an odd history. Ferrari Carano Fume Blanc is the perfect white wine for pretty spring days.

What is a Fume Blanc? Most wines are named after the grape. Fume grapes don’t exist.

Fume Blanc = Sauvignon Blanc

There’s your answer…but for the explanation watch the video below 🥂

Let’s first chat about wine and how this video came to be…

The best way to learn about wine is to taste wine

The best way to learn about wine is to taste wine with someone who knows wine. I am hashtag-blessed to be married to a guy who knows wine, so I get to drink learn wine all of the time. Sharing wine recommendations is what I’ve wanted to do with this blog – so many friends have told me they love wine, but have no idea how to select as bottle they will like in a grocery store or restaurant. So, I’ve been pushing Will to do wine tastings for instagram. And he’s agreed-ish. Like, I catch him off-guard and record him opening a bottle while telling me about it and I post it online. (All’s fair in love and quarantine, right?)

This week, one of my friends recommended “you need to get in FRONT of the camera!” Rather than prepare sensibly in a way that would make me comfortable about releasing a video into the world wild web – like applying makeup, or fixing my hair in a more styled top knot – I just go in for the kill to record a wine tasting video since my husband agreed.

On top of totally ignoring any semblance of being camera-ready, I was also using a camera that I don’t know quite how to operate so I was staring at the screen the entire time to see if it was still recording. I feel like I have to introduce it with this caveat, so when you watch the video you can appreciate my editing attempts to cover up my face 😂 Anyway, here I am, out of my comfort zone. I promise they’ll get better. All that being said, judge away. I’m not perfect. You’re not perfect. Let’s drink wine.

So… What is a Fume Blanc?

In this video, Will talks about the Ferrari Carano Fume Blanc, a May Day white wine for afternoons on a southern porch:

Ferrari-Carano is a winery that consistently produces excellent, drinkable wine at fantastic prices. We visited the winery in Sonoma Valley a few years ago and it is GORGEOUS. (Check out this photo album, if interested.) If you’re meandering through the wine aisle without any sort of idea which wine to put in your cart, you’re safe grabbing a bottle of Ferrari Carano. The Ferrari Carano Fume Blanc is exceptional – especially for the price (around $15.)

It’s light and crisp and easy to drink on a pretty May day- with or without food. While food-friendly, it’s just as easily enjoyed listening to music (billy strings is a favorite at the moment!) while making dinner as it is with food.

Fume Blanc Pairings

Fume Blanc (which is just a California sauvignon blanc with a fancy name) pairs best with a goat cheese appetizer and a porch. For dinner, you can’t go wrong with a light pasta and shrimp dish or go a little more rich like scallops and risotto. Or lemony-garlicky-buttery grouper over pasta from Luigi’s if you’re here in Myrtle Beach (this dish has the wow factor.) If you’re more into vegetarian dishes, pappardelle pasta mixed with crispy roasted asparagus, olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, and Parmesan is incredible.

Where to buy

Most grocery stores carry this wine – we got ours at Publix. Try Walmart and Target, too. You’ll also find Ferrari-Carano wines on restaurant menus.

Cheers, ya’ll! Share your questions & comments below 🥂