Sauvignon blanc is one of my favorite grape varietals. It is grown all over the world, from Bordeaux and the Loire Valley in France, to Italy, South Africa, South America, New Zealand, and the United States, to name a few places. While the style varies from place to place, there are a few characteristics that are almost always present: It's grassy, herbaceous, has hints of gooseberry and is musty.

I often hear sauvignon blanc mistakenly referred to as the white version of cabernet sauvignon, the same way white zinfandel is the rose version of zinfandel. It is true that sauvignon blanc and cabernet sauvignon have common aromatic qualities, but they are not the same grape. They are, however, related: It was proven in 1997, using DNA, that sauvignon blanc and cabernet franc are the parents of cabernet sauvignon. It is believed the two grapes were spontaneously crossed in a field in Bordeaux in the 17th century.

At its home in Bordeaux, sauvignon blanc is grown in the districts of Graves, Pessac Léognan, Cérons, Barsac and Sauternes. It is often blended with semillon and/or muscadelle. The wines from Graves and Pessac Léognan are dry in style and often aged in new or used oak. The wines of Barsac, Cérons and Sauternes are intensely sweet and are often attacked by the fungus Botrytis cinerea. Botrytis attaches itself to the grape and devours some of the grape's acidity, sugar and up to two-thirds of the water in the grape, concentrating the grape's juice into a pulp. The resulting wines often have flavors of grapefruit, honey and caramel, with a rich, luscious texture.

In the Loire Valley, sauvignon blanc in its purest form is grown in districts such as Sancerre, Pouilly Fumé, Quincy, Reuilly and Menetou-Salon. The wines are 100 percent sauvignon blanc and are very aromatic, mineral-driven and quite elegant. There are a few producers using oak on their wines, but the tradition is to use neutral oak or stainless steel. In Pouilly Fumé, the wines tend to have a hint of smokiness. California pays tribute to these wines with its fume blancs, fume meaning smoke in French.

New Zealand produces the most intensely aromatic sauvignon blancs. The weather is warm enough to ripen the grapes to their fullest, resulting in fresh wines full of ripe fruit and mouthwatering acidity. They also tend to be more tropical.

South Africa produces the spiciest sauvignon blancs, in my opinion. I often find hints of bell and jalapeno peppers in their wines. They also tend to be intensely aromatic, but not to the same level as the New Zealand wines.

In Chile, I find the wines to be a nice blend of Old World and New World styles. There are characteristics of earthiness or dustiness in the wines that you don't often see in the New World versions.

In the U.S., sauvignon blanc is grown primarily from California to Washington state. Here you can find every style of sauvignon blanc possible, from dry, intensely oaked to rich and sweet, and everything in between.

Outside of a few wines produced in Bordeaux, most sauvignon blancs are intended for early consumption, within a couple of years of bottling, in most cases. They are great as aperitifs with their ripe fruit flavors, very receptive to food with their crisp acidity, and are made for goat cheese.

A few wonderful examples I've seen around town lately are: