In Defense of the Soccer Mom’s Favorite Wine
Reliable, inexpensive New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is the go-to wine for many Americans. Is it worthy? And are some even better than just upscale Pinot Grigio? Lettie Teague, wine columnist for The…
Tag Archives: NZ Sauvignon Blanc
Koreans Take to Sauvignon
Members of the New Zealand community in Seoul, including Trade Commissioner Graeme Solloway (left) recently celebrated a New Zealand vintage winning the best white wine trophy at this year’s Korea Wine Challenge. The Woven…
Half a Century of Wine Style
New Zealand wine pioneer Villa Maria Estate’s Sir George Fistonich is celebrating his 50th vintage in the New Zealand wine industry. Sir George says the enduring popularity of the screwcap closure and sauvignon blanc…
Gobsmackingly Good Wine
“Martinborough, at the bottom of the North Island, is alter ego: small, intimate, friendly and with gobsmackingly good vino,” Ian Verrender, business columnist, writes in The Age. “Marlborough produces the bulk of New…
Groundswell Of Riesling
“The emergence of exceptionally fine New Zealand wines proves there is a groundswell of real talent and ambition in these islands,” Jancis Robinson writes in the Financial Times. “Two weeks ago, I came across the…
Fluent in Pinot Noir
Pinot noir from New Zealand’s Marlborough region is inimitable says the Telegraph’s Victoria Moore. “If I had to choose one New Zealand region whose pinot noir I would drink for the rest of my life, I…
NZ Wine, Now and Then
Features in two US newspapers discuss the past, present and future of NZ wines. The Palm Beach Daily News outlines the development of the NZ industry, from the first grapes planted by the Rev. Samuel Marsden…
Wine of the Times
Guardian wine writer Victoria Moore reports on the overwhelming success of NZ wine in the UK. NZ wine boasts the highest average retail price in the UK (second-place Australia lags by £1.77) and almost 10% of…
What Makes NZ Sav Blanc so Special?
The NZ government and members of the wine industry are funding a multimillion dollar research project to examine the distinctive qualities of the country’s prized Sauvignon Blanc. The six-year NZ $16.9 million project is being carried out…
Bumper Crop
Kiwi wine exports hit a record high of half a billion dollars this year, according the New Zealand Winegrowers annual report. Pinot noir sales increased 55% to overtake chardonnay as NZ’s second most exported varietal, after perennial…
Knock Off Drink Par Excellence
Charlotte Observer wine critic, restaurant owner Catherine Rabb, gives US readers the low down on NZ Sauvignon Blanc. “Restaurant work is a hot, sweaty business. At the end of a long night, my favorite wine is…
Savvy Marketing
Monkey Bay is officially the number one selling NZ Sauvignon Blanc in America. Released two years ago, Monkey Bay is an affiliate of the Nobilo Wine Group. Senior winemaker Alistair McIntosh cites a number of factors…
New World Vanguard
NZ doubled its gold medal count from 2004 at this year’s International Wine Challenge in London, picking up an impressive 15. This gold increase was almost entirely due to red wines, showing that the…
Cloudy Bay Credibility
The burgeoning NZ wine industry gets an extensive survey in The Drinks Business magazine (UK.) Author Penny Boothman cites several factors behind NZ’s success on the international market, including the ongoing Cloudy Bay effect….
Trail-blazing Twosome
LA Times feature charts the rise of NZ Sauvignon Blanc, courtesy of forward-thinking brothers Bill and Ross Spence who first planted the grape – against conventional wisdom – in the early 1970s. Their vineyard, Matua Valley, is…
Heaven Scent
NZ’s 2004 Sauvignon Blanc vintage has impressed American critics, with praise coming from numerous top U.S publications. Wall Street Journal: “Mouth-watering sauvignon blanc that just about from the glass, with aggressive green-pepper smells, juicy tastes of…
A Wine Like No Other
Pittsburgh Live writer experiences a dash of spring fever courtesy of Marlborough’s world-renowned sauvignon blanc. “The wine’s style elicits both tremendous enthusiasm and vehement rejection, but overall, sales of NZ sauvignon blanc are soaring, with more than…
Wine Double Feature
A Malaysian Star story on the NZ wine industry takes as its focus the award winning Villa Maria winery. According to the writer, NZ “has developed a unique niche on the world wine stage, with wines characterised…
Staying Power
Aotearoa has a starring role in wine writer Thom Elkjer’s overview of sauvignon blanc – past and present – for the SF Chronicle. NZ has been a major player in the grape’s popularity since ” out…
Wine Boom Continues
NZ wine producers are going for quantity as well as quality, with 2004 officially the largest vintage on record. At 166,000 tons, the national harvest was 40% higher than the previous high of 118,700 tons in 2002….
New World Edges In
Kim Crawford’s 2003 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc took top honours at the Sélections Mondiales des Vins in Montreal, winning the Grande Médaille d’or (grand gold) in its category as well as the Prix du Jury décernés par pays…
Talent with Depth
Observer wine critic, Tim Atkin, looks beyond the ubiquitous NZ Sauvignon Blanc, recommending instead our Pinot Gris, Riesling, Syrah, and – above all – Pinot Noir. “NZ may produce only 0.79 per cent of the world’s vino,…
I See Red, I See Red, I See Red
According to leading wine magazine, Decanter, “red wines in NZ are undergoing a revolution that promises to be as dramatic as the discovery that Marlborough could produce world-class Sauvignon Blanc.” The December issue included 1 Kiwi…
Sauvignon Tsunami
CNN and the Arizona Republic lavish praise on NZ Sauvignon Blanc, recommending the 2003 Brancott Estate and 2003 Nobilo Icon Series respectively. “NZ is now a tsunami of Sauvignon Blancs, and diligently as I’ve tried, I…
Mecca Found in Martinborough
“New Zealand, known for its crisp sauvignon blancs, may well become a mecca for pinot noir aficionados.” Boston Herald identifies Martinborough as the prime source for pinot production, in particular the dry river bed called the Martinborough…
Lawson’s Joins Mile High Club
Lawson’s Dry Hills Sauvignon Blanc scored the highest overall marks for a white wine in the Scotsman‘s high-altitude taste test. In conjunction with 6 international airlines, the Scotsman and a panel of expert judges sought out…
Cloudy Bay’s Silver Lining
Japan’s Daily Yomiuri tracks the stellar career of NZ’s best known vineyard – Cloudy Bay – in a feature on summery Sauvignons. “NZ zapped into the spotlight in 1985 with Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc. The wine…
A Toast to the “New Classics”
British wine writer, John Hunter, educates his readers in the (remarkably brief) history of NZ wine. Urging them to cast aside any lingering associations with Australia – “it’s a darn sight closer to Antarctica” – Hunter recommends…
Change of Pace
BBC series on ex-pat Brits profiles Jake Barnett, a London banker turned Christchurch viticulture student. Barnett has nothing but praise for the NZ wine industry, not to mention his adopted homeland. “The nearest we get to…
A Savvy Critic
“New Zealand wines have zest.” So proclaims Michael Apstein, wine writer for The Boston Globe. His picks of the sauvignon-blanc bunch include Mount Riley (Marlborough, 22), Thornbury (Marlborough, 22) and Craggy Range (Martinborough, 22).
One to Watch
Special mention is given in Malcolm Gluck’s wine column to the “spectacular” Wither Hills 2002 Sauvignon Blanc: “a beguiling sauvignon blanc of mouthwatering scrumptiousness.” The 2000 vintage was NZ’s most awarded sauvignon ever – could 2002 go…
NZ Wine’s Quantum Leap
In the 21st century, on-the-edge New Zealand towers on the global wine map with what is acknowledged as some of the world’s best sauvignon blanc (pinot noir is on the way). Europeans sit stunned by the…
Palliser Palate Thriller
“My top pick Vintages white is a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc that thrills the palate: Palliser Estate 2000 Sauvignon Blanc.”
And to Wash it Down…
Serving salad? Drink New Zealand Sauvignon, also just the ticket with artichokes and asparagus. National Post features refreshing Fairhill Downs Sauvignon and classy Palliser Estate Pinot.
Tohu Sauvignon
“The only wine in New Zealand (as far as I know) that’s made entirely by Maori. If you’ve grown tired of Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc, this gooseberry and passion fruit white, with its fresh acidity and real…
Sauvignon Assertion
“The fish was marinating in a spicy Mexican sauce. And the chef wanted the perfect wine for his meal. Max Pendolari, grape guru, provided the doctor’s answer, as he has done nearly every day for four…
Fine Drinking
Palliser Estate Sauvignon with “real intensity, poise and class”. “Brilliant reds” are “the undiscovered splendors of New Zealand”. Wine of the week: Stoneleigh Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.
Sauvignon Summer
“Stick with sauvignon blanc. The good ones are so much better, for the price (Cloudy Bay, perhaps the best in the world–certainly the most striking–goes for less than a so-so California chardonnay), than other summer staples that…
Sauvignon Temptation
Former Scots Rugby rep Rob Wainwright recalls a New Zealand tour run along the lines of a temperance society outing. The players escaped the coach for a day of deep-sea fishing, which swiftly “degenerated into deep…
Dionysian Olympic Success
“Eventually, excellence of all sorts is rewarded, and one day New Zealand will be able to show off its medals.” The New York Times explores the success of New Zealand’s contender in the wine making Olympics:…
Otherworldly Sauvignon Blancs
The New York Press predicts a sauvignon blanc summer – great for when the mercury rises. “The genuinely good stuff–particularly the world-class sauvignon blancs of New Zealand’s Marlborough region – tastes like alcoholic Fresca. Tastes almost otherworldly,…
Quality Not Quantity for Outstanding New Zealand Vintage
“Outstanding quality and lower quantities characterize the 2000 vintage in New Zealand. The country’s hallmark Sauvignon Blanc and very promising Pinot Noir varieties in particular have benefited from the difficult growing conditions.”
New Zealand Whites Give Bland Californians a Taste of the Real Thing
“Here come the sauvignon blancs from New Zealand. Hooray!” White wines from “half a world away” are challenging the blandly commercial US natives, “they almost seem juicier than other wines, maybe because they supercharge our salivary glands.”…
“Nobody Does Sauvignon Better Than New Zealand”
“Certain wine regions become known for certain wines because the majority of producers there do them better than anyone else … when it comes to sauvignon blanc, nobody does it better on a consistent basis than…
Quality Not Quantity for NZ Wines This Year
Fickle Summer weather and cold autumn southerly winds have made it likely that New Zealand will produce a disappointingly small crop of sauvingon blanc grapes this year … the plus side is that the small vintage…
A Cool, Crisp, Refreshing Dip: Oyster Bay
“Fondle a bottle of sauvignon blanc on a hot day. There are beads of cool condensation on the outside and the label says “Oyster Bay”…”
Great Red Hope
It’s not New Zealand’s fault. Little more than 10 years ago they took the world by storm with their fruit-packed, freshly acidic, amazingly aromatic Sauvignon Blanc. Now …
