Sauvignon Blanc (say "Saw-vee-nyaw Blong") is New Zealand's signature white wine and our country is widely regarded as setting the international standard for this variety. The grape has its roots in France and is best known as a single variety from the Loire district. The best examples are Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé. In the Bordeaux region the grape is often blended with others, principally Sémillon, and used in the production of both dry and sweet wines, notably Sauternes, although many varietal examples exist.

Today the grape is grown in many New World winemaking countries, mainly the United States, Chile and South Africa. In New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is now our most planted variety, accounting for over 40% of the national crop and for 85% of the 2007 Marlborough harvest. This dominance is being reinforced by significant new plantings. The mix of high sunshine hours, protection from southerly winds, free-draining soils, dry summers and low humidity in this region is ideal for the production of particularly pungent and flavoursome Sauvignon Blanc wines.

Sauvignon Blanc wines are generally dry and light- to medium-bodied with pronounced aromas. They display distinctive herbaceous characters from cooler sites, and gooseberry or tropical fruit characters when grown under warm conditions. From southern regions the wine's finish has a propensity to be austere, with high acidity.

In most cases you'll be well advised to drink unwooded Sauvignon Blanc within two years, while all the varietal flavours are still present in the wine.




Like many of the best-known varieties in the world, Chardonnay (say "Shar-don-nay") comes from France. In Burgundy, big, complex white wines like Meursault, Montrachet and Chablis have made the variety famous.

Apart from France, Chardonnay is also grown in Italy, Eastern Europe and the New World, including Chile, South Africa, Australia, California and Oregon. Chardonnay was the most planted variety in New Zealand until very recently, when it was overtaken by Sauvignon Blanc.

The enduring appeal of Chardonnay is that it is relatively easy to grow and lends itself to the production of many different styles of wine. A wide range of different winemaking techniques can be applied, ensuring that all Chardonnays differ in flavour, which is very attractive from a wine drinker's point of view.

In its still wine form, Chardonnay is always dry (lacking sweetness) and is usually medium- to full-bodied. Most Chardonnays are aged in oak barrels, so vanillin and toasty characters may be evident. It is not as fruity as a Sauvignon Blanc or Riesling, but may display flavours of peach, melon or grapefruit.




Riesling (say "Reece-ling") is considered to be one of the world's noblest grape varieties. It heralds from Germany, where excellent Riesling wines are made in the Rheingau and Mosel regions. The flavours typically are characterised by fresh apple when young and develop warm rich honeyed flavours with ageing. Many of the wines have high natural acidities and some residual sweetness. The best examples appeal both to people who are new to the enjoyment of wine and connoisseurs.

The variety was introduced to New Zealand from Germany in the early 1970s and the first commercial-scale production came in 1978. The area planted in Riesling vines has increased sporadically and it is now our third most planted white variety after Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. Over 80% of New Zealand Riesling is grown in Marlborough and North Canterbury.

Riesling is often made to exhibit various levels of residual sweetness in the finished wine, so it is important to read the label carefully to make sure you get a wine that suits your own preference in terms of sweetness. Most New Zealand versions are off-dry to help balance the extra acidity which is normal for this variety, but drier versions are appearing on wine shop shelves.

Because of its flavour intensity and naturally high acid, Riesling is an excellent candidate for cellaring. It takes at least two years for the flavours and structure of the wine to meld together and display balance, richness and integration. As a guide, New Zealand Rieslings approach their peak at about four years.




In Bordeaux plantings of Merlot (say "Mer-low") outstrip Cabernet Sauvignon by almost two to one. Only in the more shingly soils of Médoc and Graves is Cabernet Sauvignon more common. The home of Merlot is in Pomerol, where it produces soft blackberry flavours such as in Château Pétrus, one of the world's most expensive wines, and St-Émilion, where the wines are meaty and soft. Both have ample, yet soft, tannin. These wines have inspired new plantings all over the New World and in traditional wine-producing countries such as Italy.

In New Zealand, Merlot plantings have increase more than fourfold in the last decade and the variety now accounts for more planted vineyard land than Cabernet Sauvignon. It is the fourth most planted grape variety in New Zealand after Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Two-thirds of the country's Merlot is grown in Hawke's Bay, with most of the balance split between Marlborough and Gisborne.

Merlot grapes ripen about two weeks earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon. It has loose bunches and blue-black berries that are not only larger than those of Cabernet Sauvignon, but also have thinner skin, making them more susceptible to disease. However, the wonderful flavours characteristic of this variety more than compensates for this viticultural challenge.

There is an increasing number of straight Merlot wines on the market, but the variety is still most often found in blends where it is used to add softness and sometimes to offset herbaceous characters that may be found in Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine is plummy, beefy, meaty and savoury in character with softer tannins than Cabernet Sauvignon, so that it can be enjoyed young.




Pink-skinned Pinot Gris (say "Pea-no Gree") is a French variety closely related to Pinot Noir. Although its roots are in Burgundy, it is now grown in various French regions, most notably Alsace, where it produces attractive full-flavoured, dry, flinty wines formerly known as Tokay d'Alsace. The variety may also be called Pinot Beurot in France. In Germany the variety is called Ruländer when sweet and Grauburgunder when dry, while in Italy they call it Pinot Grigio.

Though Pinot Gris currently represents only a tiny fraction of New Zealand grape plantings, the vineyard area planted in the variety is set to double in the next year or two. As the grapes come on stream, winemakers are experimenting with different techniques, resulting in a mix of styles from light and fresh to full with some residual sugar, to lightly oaked, more complex dry styles.

People who try Pinot Gris are almost invariably impressed with the mouth-filling, deep-flavoured apricot, stone-fruit, spice and smoke flavours, finding it an attractive, delicately perfumed alternative to Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc that matches well with food.

Pinot Gris from the cooler regions generally display more acidity and can benefit from cellaring.




Pinot Noir (say "Pea-no Nwah") is an ancient grape variety that has long been the backbone of Burgundian reds . It is also grown in Alsace, the Loire Valley and Champagne, where it is one of the three varieties used to make the wines named after this region. The key attraction of early Burgundy wines in France was their lightness and delicacy. That all changed in the eighteenth century with the production of strong, full and relatively tannic wines from the Nuit St-Georges region, which became the benchmark for the variety.

The best Pinot Noir wines are rich, soft and mouth-filling with an appealing fruit sweetness.

Pinot Noir is a grape that does not naturally develop high levels of colour and tannin and thus sometimes produces wines of light to medium body. Still, good Pinot Noir has a mouth-feel that rivals heavier wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Their extremely rewarding taste sensations typically include fruit flavours can range from strawberry to cherry and plum, turning to mushroom and earthy characters with time.

The New Zealand climate is ideally suited to this variety and Pinot Noir is destined to be New Zealand's greatest red variety, possibly even rivalling the success of our Sauvignon Blanc on the international stage.

Compared to Cabernet Sauvignon, which prefers hotter growing regions, Pinot Noir produces excellent results in cooler climates, even as far south as Canterbury and Otago. Unlike the continental climate in the traditional home of Pinot Noir in Burgundy, New Zealand has a maritime climate. The soils of Burgundy are mainly limestone, whereas Pinot Noir in New Zealand grows in different regions and the soils vary markedly. Many viticulturists believe that older vines and harder growing conditions give the best results.

Many of the best early Pinot Noir produced in New Zealand came from Martinborough and Otago, but these days very good examples are also produced in Marlborough, where it is relatively easy to grow, as well as the Wairarapa, Nelson and Canterbury.

There are usually minimal tannins in the wine and these are often soft, rendering long cellaring unnecessary in most cases.