When Philippe and Cherie Melka first arrived in Napa Valley in the 1990s, the region was awash in Cabernet Sauvignon. Sauvignon Blanc, the red grape’s natural partner in Bordeaux, was an afterthought.
“There was almost no high-end Sauvignon Blanc in the market,” says Melka, a fan of Château Haut-Brion Blanc. Most wines
