We picked this bottle of Chenin Blanc off a shelf at the Bargain Grocery Store for an excellent reason; we liked the label design and the typography, and after loving the Pacific Rim Chenin Blanc, we were intrigued by the "dry Chenin Blanc" description. And at $3.99, we figured why not? Although neither of us had previously heard of Santa Barbara Crossing, I was pretty sure that I'd discover that Santa Barbara Crossing was a Frank Bronco winery, and I was right. It's one of the wineries Bronco runs under his Classic wines of California brand. Santa Barbara Crossing also makes a 2007 Chardonnay, and a 2009 Gewürtztraminer; I'll be watching for those as well.

Santa Barbara Crossing Dry Chenin Blanc 2009 is very pale in the glass; almost colorless, with just a hint of yellow. The aroma is very tropical, pineapple with a hint of honey or melon. This truly is a dry wine, with the faintly tropical lychee or pineapple you expect of Chenin Blanc, but it was also sweeter than I'd expected, and less acidic. I think, thanks to the wisdom of research, that the sweetness is from the fact that this is a blend of 76% Chenin Blanc with 22% Gewurtztraminer, and 2% of "Dry white." Research also led me to discover that this wine won a silver medal at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo International Wine Competition in 2011.

The winemaker, John Allbaugh, suggests a very traditional pairing for this wine; "pasta, shellfish, pork, cheese, and poultry." That will of course work quite well—but I would suggest specifically a mild goat cheese on artisan bread, or a tuna sandwich with fresh greens, or a light salad with chicken, mandarin oranges, spinach, goat cheese crumbles, and roasted cashews.