Korean-Owned Napa Sauvignon Blanc Joins Elite with Platinum at BWW 2025
Creatrip Team
2 months ago
At the Best Wine of the World (BWW) 2025 awards, France’s Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (DRC) Montrachet won World’s Best White, but one of only six Platinum (98–100) white wines was Dana Estates’ Hershey Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc (owned by Korean businessman Lee Hee-sang). BWW combined consumer votes and expert blind tasting across 19,321 wines and nearly 450,000 voters. Judges praised Dana’s 2019 Hershey Sauvignon Blanc for its vivid acidity, rich mineral depth and layered flavors (lemon verbena, guava, pineapple, brioche, lemon curd, ginger, chamomile), noting its 10+ year aging potential and 20-month French oak maturation (72% new oak). The Platinum selection places Dana’s wine alongside legendary Burgundies and top Bordeaux whites, signaling a shift in Napa Valley’s reputation for world-class white wines. Dana Estates—rooted in historic Rutherford vineyards and restored after fire—focuses on single-vineyard terroir (single-vineyard) and meticulous winemaking across plots like Helms, Lotus, Hershey and Crystal Springs. The win highlights Napa’s development of an oaked “Fumé Blanc” style (Fumé Blanc) that adapts Sauvignon Blanc to warmer California conditions and elevated international status.
