WINELINE FOR THE REPUBLIC OF SAUVIGNON BLANC FANCIERS.

Byline: LARRY LIPSON

Bottles of sauvignon blanc, usually from California or New Zealand, go a lot faster at my house than bottles of chardonnay, usually Californian or Australian.

That's because sauvignon blanc is unquestionably a much better food wine than chardonnay, the exception being, of course, some of the great, 100 percent chardonnay, white burgundies of France.

In other words, when a white wine is needed to accompany a certain dish, sauvignon blanc will, nine times out of 10, be more compatible.

And now there's a wine label strictly for sauvignon blanc fanciers.

It's called Sauvignon Republic Cellars, and its grapes come from the best sauvignon blanc growing areas of the world.

Currently Sauvignon Republic labels adorn a 2005 Russian River Valley, Calif., bottling ($18) that was released earlier this year.

Some 10,000 cases were produced, so there's still plenty around for the festive holiday season coming up.

And bottles have screwcaps for consumer friendliness, also for ``freshness, consistency and reliability,'' say the Sauvignon Republic people.

Currently, the company also offers sauvignon blancs from the Marlborough region of New Zealand and from Stellenbosch in South Africa.

In the future, we're told, Sauvignon Republic labels will show up on sauvignon blancs from the Loire Valley in France, Friuli in Northern Italy, and also select areas of Chile and Austria.

Information: [phone] or www.sauvignonrepublic.com.

STATES OF WINE

Riesling is hot.

Fetzer Vineyards, the Mendocino, Calif., winery that produces a very popular California riesling, claims that it needs to meet a rising demand for this wine.

So Fetzer went to Germany's Mosel-Saar-Ruwer and Rheinhessen regions to find riesling that's similar to its own product, one that is termed an off-dry style.

But you won't find it in such big wine-drinking states as New York, Florida and California.

Priced at $8.99 and dubbed Fetzer Valley Oaks German Riesling, it's only available in North and South Dakota, Michigan, Kentucky, Kansas, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, North and South Carolina, Minnesota and Virginia.

Do you get the feeling that Fetzer believes its home-grown riesling is the better one?

Information: [phone] or www.fetzer.com.

NEW RELEASES

Three 2003 mountain reserve cabernet sauvignons from Martin Ray are the Santa Cruz Mountains ($60), the Diamond Mountain District ($60) and the Sonoma Mountain ($55). Interesting about these is the differing alcohol content, 13.8 percent, 14.3 percent and 15.6 percent, respectively. Information: [phone] or www.martinraywinery.com.

The 2005 zinfandel ($11) from McManis Family Vineyards in the Lodi area of California is the result of ``four vintages of attempting to find the right grape sources.'' Information: [phone] or www.mcmanisfamilyvineyards.com.

Not all Lodi zins are alike. Check out the 2003 Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi ($11) and the 2004s of Talus ($7.99) and Ravenswood ($15). Information: Woodbridge, [phone] or www.woodbridgewines.com; Talus, www.taluscollection.com; and Ravenswood, [phone] or www.ravenswoodwinery.com.

Big-time bubblies for the holidays might include the some of the best of Schramsberg, the 1999 J. Schram ($90), the 2000 reserve ($80) and the 1998 J. Schram rose ($120), the very first pink sparkler with the J. Schram label. Information: [phone] or www.schramsberg.com.

New upscale reserve reds from Beaulieu Vineyard (BV) are two proprietary 2003s, the Dulcet ($40), a blend of cabernet sauvignon and syrah, and Tapestry ($50), a blend of cabernet sauvignon, petit verdot, merlot and cabernet franc. Information: [phone] or www.diageowines.com.

Recent releases from Long Vineyards are the 2003 Pritchard Hill cabernet sauvignon ($60) and the 2004 Seghesio Vineyards sangiovese ($35). Information: [phone] or www.longvineyards.com.

SIPS AND NIBBLES

A couple of new argon gas wine preservation products for those who don't drain every bottle they open are the Pek Wine Steward ($39.95) and the VinoVault ($299.95). Information: [phone] or www.peksystems.com.

A new wine club called 600 Grapes asks us if we suffer from ``oenophobia'' -- a fear of wine. They mean, of course, that there's confusion, intimidation and other factors involved with choosing the right wine. 600 Grapes say they can solve such problems. Information: [phone] or www.600grapes.com.

Larry Lipson, [phone]

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