Giada De Laurentiis Buys This Surprisingly Cheap Sauvignon Blanc By The Case

Given Giada De Laurentiis' love of all things Italian (especially food and wine), if you were to ask the chef and restaurateur to recommend a nice crisp, dry white wine, you might expect her to recommend a vermentino, verdicchio, or a Gavi. However, when she was putting together the wine list for her now-shuttered Baltimore restaurant, GDL Italian, she chose a sauvignon blanc from Kim Crawford, a New Zealand-based wine maker.

On her blog, Giadzy, De Laurentiis says she "stumbled upon" the Kim Crawford wine when she was compiling the wine list for the new restaurant and looking for wines that were both delicious and complemented the food. "It's a little buttery white wine that is absolutely delicious," she explains, noting its fruity, crisp flavor. The wine has enough body to pair well with a variety of dishes, including spicy foods, but is also light enough to drink on its own. The winemaker describes the wine as "a fresh, juicy wine with vibrant acidity and plenty of weight and length on the palate."

In addition to adding the wine to GDL Italian's wine list, De Laurentiis also purchases the wine for herself, even buying it by the case. Along with dry pasta and olive oil, it may even be one of her favorite pantry staples. "It's just the thing to have on hand for outdoor grilling, lazy days on the beach, or last-minute dinner parties," De Laurentiis states.

Giada De Laurentiis isn't the only one to rate the wine highly. Across all of its vintages, Kim Crawford sauvignon blanc receives an average rating of 88 out of 100, according to Wine-Searcher. Wine critic James Suckling describes it as "A crunchy and easy sauvignon blanc that delivers green-melon and apple aromas and flavors. It's medium-bodied, lightly sweet and crisp at the end. Nicely done." A recent vintage was named the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc of the Year in the 2024 New York International Wine Competition. Although Wine-Searcher lists the average price as $17 per bottle, it can be found for as low as $12 per bottle.

The Food Network personality doesn't say what type of foods pair best with the dry white wine, but experts generally agree you can't go wrong with creamy pasta dishes and poultry. Sauvignon blanc is also a great wine to pair with raw fish, so consider it the next time you're having sushi — although you're unlikely to find that on De Laurentiis' menu.