{"id":2344,"date":"2023-02-20T09:07:52","date_gmt":"2023-02-19T23:07:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travisschultz.com.au\/?p=2344"},"modified":"2023-02-20T09:18:58","modified_gmt":"2023-02-19T23:18:58","slug":"sauvignon-blanc-how-new-zealands-popular-grape-became-australias-sweetest-obsession","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travisschultz.com.au\/sauvignon-blanc-how-new-zealands-popular-grape-became-australias-sweetest-obsession\/","title":{"rendered":"Sauvignon Blanc: How New Zealand’s Popular Grape Became Australia’s Sweetest Obsession"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
It\u2019s all New Zealand\u2019s fault. And their day of reckoning will come. Why is it that a grape as popular, pretty and racy as sauvignon blanc became indistinguishable from Cottees fruit cordials?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fruit forward and sweet, these new-age versions of the Loire Valley classic are as perfumed as they are pungent; structure free zones that throw around tropical fruit and gooseberry flavours with a sweetness not found in Charlie\u2019s Chocolate Factory!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How on earth did these \u201csavvies\u201d become the most consumed wine in Australia? Are we mad? Maybe it\u2019s just me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Wine Australia, it is estimated that in 2022, the total Australian white wine winegrape crush was about 775,000 tonnes \u2013 a decrease of about 9 per cent on the previous year and well below the 10-year average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dominant varietal was chardonnay with over 350,000 tonnes in tank, while sauvignon blanc managed to scrape into second position with close to 100,000 tonnes \u2013 just edging out pinot gris\/grigio for the silver medal position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet despite the dominance of chardonnay in domestic white wine production, sauvignon blanc remains the biggest-selling white wine in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It represents about 40 per cent of all white wine purchased in Australia annually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the USA it\u2019s a similar story, as sauvignon blanc accounts for about 39 per cent of all white wine consumed there, having grown its share of the market by 24 per cent in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perhaps unsurprisingly, it\u2019s the Marlborough savvies like the Kim Crawford sauvignon blanc that are finding favour with American consumers (they seem to also like Starbucks coffee, so I suspect that their palates are genetically distorted).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In French, the name \u201csauvignon blanc\u201d literally means \u201cwild white\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And it\u2019s an apt description for a varietal that traditionally combines a racy acidity with grassy characters and a herbaceous finish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The grape is historically linked to the Loire Valley in France, where it\u2019s used to make Pouilly-Fume as well as dry and aromatic Sancerre styles on the opposite side of the river.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Bordeaux, the grape is famously blended with Semillon in the Graves district to make a crisp and dry style of white table wine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And it\u2019s this type of wine that has risen to prominence in the Margaret River region of Western Australia where local producers are blessed with ideal growing conditions for both varietals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Margaret River district is littered with five-star wineries, but among my favourites is the Burch family\u2019s Howard Park operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was back in 1988 that Jeff and Amy Burch acquired a pastoral property in the region with a view to planting it with vines \u2013 a piece of dirt that would become known as their famous \u201cLeston\u201d vineyard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n