Sauvignon Blanc and Marlborough
Located at the top of New Zealand’s South Island, Marlborough is home to the Kiwi’s largest wine growing region. Its international reputation has been cemented with the production of some excellent Sauvignon Blanc, along with some very nice Chardonnay and Riesling, and it is now flirting with Pinot Noir. However, fully one-third of the region is planted to Sauvignon Blanc, making it akin to the national grape. And, it’s no wonder – with plenty of sun, cool nights, and very little autumn rain, the well-drained gravel-laced alluvial soils make a comfortable home to the grape.
So, it should come as no surprise that a new Marlborough producer, Long Boat, is also concentrating on Savignon Blanc (“Savi” in Kiwi). However, they’ve decided to push the envelope and grow the wine at an elevation of 400-1,000 feet in the more remote Awatere and Waihopai Valleys, rather than on the flatlands of the Wairau. They feel the added stress of the vines should produce wines with more intense flavors.
Join us as we talk with Craig Murphy, winemaker and winery manager for Long Boat, about the country, the region, and Long Boat’s own unique style of “Savi.”
Sponsor- The Office of Champagne USA: www.champagne.us
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(41:58 min 30MB)
Hi guys.
Thanks for the latest episode. Very interesting. I’ve got a link
below, which shows that Sauv Blanc is becoming more popular in
Australia than Chardonnay. Apparently primarily because people of a
particular age don’t necessarily want to drink what their parents
drink, which is kind of dopey to me. But both NZ and Aussie Sauv
Blanc and Semillon Sauv Blanc are as you say, great on a hot day, or as a summer alternative.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/epicure/sav-blanc-downs-chardy-as-leading-white/2009/01/24/1232471659714.html
On another issue, Australia is moving towards changing tokay to topaque
http://www.smh.com.au/news/executive-style/culture/wine-lovers-face-name-changes/2009/01/16/1232213505452.html
Thanks for the show. Absolutely love it.
Morrie Johnston,
Warriewood, NSW, Australia
Hi Morrie!
Thanks for the comments on the show, and for the links. I found it interesting to read Casella’s impression that “People today don’t want to drink what their parents drank and their parents drank chardonnay,” and, I suppose a generational change easily be a factor. But, as the article mentions, one has to wonder if the opportunity of a large price differential between Sauv Blanc and Chard didn’t have more to do with it. And, given Yellow Tail’s own approach to gaining market share, that certainly ought to have crossed his mind too.
Eric
Hi,
thanks for such an impressive podcast about the most beautiful region in New Zealand – a wine growing one! I really think the country’s industry of wine is increasing and thus it makes all wine lovers to reconsider their tastes and indulge themselves in more intense veritable flavors of NZ wine. It must be slap-up!
Regards,
Tanya Shekhovtsova.
I have been trying to “share this” with a friend via email and can’t seem to get it done. Any hints on how this works?
Tim,
Click on the “Share This” under the show time. Select the E-MAIL Tab, fill in the info and viola! I tried sending one to myself at my work address, and got this message with an embedded link:
hey, check this out
Sauvignon Blanc and Marlborough
http://www.graperadio.com/archives/2009/01/26/sauvignon-blanc-and-m…
Now, I DID get a weird message that the email was not valid, but it showed up at my doorstep anyway.
Hope this helps.
Eric