It's been about a week since our last side-by-side blind tasting of a Kirkland Signature wine vs. a name brand, and we felt the itch to give another one a go.
With temperatures creeping up into the high 80's here in Georgia, we thought the perfect wines to taste would be the 2019 Kirkland Signature Sauvignon Blanc ($6.99) and the 2019 Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc ($13.99), both from Marlborough, New Zealand. These wines are indeed at slightly different price points, but since they are both of the same vintage and region, we decided to see how these two wines stacked up against one another.
We were the only 2 tasters this time around - here are some of our comments:
Wine #1: expressive nose, guava, banana, citrus, grassy, fresh, tangy, acidic, hint of sweetness, long finish.
Wine #2: muted nose, paler in color, slightly sweeter, kiwi, bright citrus, zippy, a bit understated, crisp and clean finish.
Both of these wines exhibit the typical characteristic aromas and flavors of the Sauvignon Blanc grape when produced in New Zealand, which made it tough to pick a "winner". We think that both wines are enjoyable, and we would be happy drinking either on a hot summers evening, but overall we prefer Wine #1 because of its more expressive nose and longer finish. The producer? Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc!
Is it worth the extra $?
Great question - thanks for asking! We don't think so. The KS is a lovely wine on its own and is truly a fantastic value at $6.99. When we shop for wine and see a bottle for that price, there is not much hemming and hawing that goes into it. However, get over the $10 threshold, and we tend to pause and use a bit more discretion before we put that bottle in our cart. Both of these wines are great sippers on a hot day - we affectionally call wines with this easy and fun style, "porch pounders". We don't know about you, but we would much rather spend $7 on our porch pounding libation than $14!
Do you have any porch pounder favorites? Let us know in the comments below!