Storytime:

Once upon a time, I went to grad school in Alabama (not AT Alabama... which since I went to Auburn is an important distinction).

In grad school (for English anyway), you've basically got three modes. There's incredibly productive mode, where you grade papers at the speed of light, do all your reading like a champ, and contribute SUPER insightfully to class discussions.

Sadly, this mode is only like 2% of grad school.

The other two modes usually involve really proud moments like crying while watching ocean documentaries, or eating cereal for two weeks straight because you've had so little sleep that every meal feels like breakfast (...hypothetically).

Despite the somewhat...difficult nature of being an English grad student, the people I met at grad school are some of my favorite ever. They're the kind of friends that after you've met there's a moment where you realize "These are my people. These people get me. I have been wandering in the desert and now I am found." (okay that's maybe a little dramatic but you get what I'm saying).

What does this have to do with wine, you may ask? Excellent question!

I recently visited some of my grad school friends over the weekend, and because they are my people, they totally went along with me when I suggested buying wine and taking artsy pictures of it in the park. Since we were photo-ing, I wanted to pick a really pretty bottle, which is how I decided on this Prisma Sauvignon Blanc from Chile (13.99 at Liquor Express, Huntsville AL)

Look at that bottle! It's like a kaleidoscope of amazing!

Sauvignon Blanc is one of my favorite whites, and it was my go-to wine for years (pre-winery Molly pretty much drank whites all the time, and Sauv Blancs at least 60% of the time). I love the citrus flavors, and I love how crisp and refreshing they are. This one is no exception- it was perfect for the blazing hot Labor Day weekend. It comes from Chile, specifically from the Casablanca Valley (not the "Here's looking at you kid" Casablanca... the other one), which is a cooler coastal region basically in the center of Chile, and is one of the reasons that this wine is so crisp and refreshing.

Climate's kind of a big deal when it comes to grape growing, and by extension wine-making. Heat is what determines how fast grapes grow, which affects when they are picked. If a climate is warmer, the grapes (and wine) tend to be more flavorful and in wine-speak, "full-bodied." Grapes grown in cooler climates tend to have lighter, subtler flavors. One's not necessarily worse or better than the other, but different grapes do tend to prefer one climate over the other (although like a lot of things in wine today, it's not necessarily a hard and fast rule. For example Zinfandel is usually grown in a warmer climate, but cool climate Zins often have really interesting pepper flavors to them).

Sauvignon Blanc loves the cooler weather, so the part of Chile where this one is grown works well.

Tiiiiiiny bubbles! (side note, I normally rock an iphone 4s but I borrowed a 5s for these pics... I may need to consider an upgrade).

In the glass (as you may see), this wine is SUPER light, almost colorless. It's got a kind of fresh, lemony scent (which when I say that I feel like it sounds like I'm referencing cleaning products but it actually smells like a real lemon). Taste-wise, I get a lot of grapefruit and citrus flavors, and it's got a really nice minerality (which is basically wine-speak for that taste like when you drink really cold, fresh water out of the hose and it has a certain kind of "rocky" flavor... that's minerality).

OUR RATING: I'm going to speak from experience and say that this is perfect for a hot summer day with good friends. Snacks preferred, but not necessary.

I'D DRINK THIS:

On a boat, with something that has the word "shrimp" in it.

At a picnic that's miraculously bug-free.

At one of those meet-and-greet mixers where you eat tiny cups of Chex Mix and have random conversations with people doing interesting things.

At brunch when you don't feel like a mimosa.