Why No Fumé Blanc?

Fumé Blanc is simply a style of winemaking, not an actual varietal

Fumé Blanc is simply a saugivnon blank with a different flavor profile. There is no fumé blanc grape. It’s a style of winemaking, not a varietal, which our site does not distinguish. It’s still based on the grape varietal Sauvignon Blanc. Here’s a short history lesson onto how the fumé blanc came to be.

The name fumé blanc stems (no pun intended) from the late 1960s, when consumers wouldn’t go near Sauvignon Blanc any more then Miles from the movie Sideways wouldn’t go near Merlot (and yes, I’m sure a lot of wine drinkers echoed the same comments, “I’m not drinking any f’ing Sauvignon Blanc!) Unfortunately for winery owners, mother nature doesn’t stop growing a grape because the demand shrinks. So what’s a winery do to? Change the recipe & call in the marketing boys to make it appear as if it isn’t Sauvignon Blanc.

That’s what Robert Mondavi did in 1967. He solved a problem by making Sauvignon Blanc be more in the Pouilly-Fume style (a French style wine), whereby he adopted the alias “Fumé Blanc”. I’ve got nothing against fume blanc, however it’s not a varietal, and thereby is not on the varietal list.