When Giesen first planted their vines to Marlborough's auspicious soils, it is unlikely they could have anticipated the fame they would achieve, by virtue of their enduring Sauvignon Blanc. The distinctive pungency and zesty fruit flavours have forever captured the imagination of the international wine community. A wine that's close to the hearts of lovers of good Sauvignon Blanc almost everywhere in the world, inspiringly nettle and gooseberry flavoured, combined with a juicy, yet dry minerality.

Giesen release several editions of New Zealand's leading Sauvignon Blanc each year. The Brothers is a fine assemblage of fruit from four vineyards at Rapaura, Mathews Lane and Dillon's Point. The Rapaura blocks show intense capsicum and pungent box tree aromas, contributing a juicy weight to the palate. The balance of parcels bring intense lifted citrus and nettle perfumes while adding superb linear structure. It's the vital, refreshing qualities and impeccably clean finish which make Giesen wines so appealing to palates throughout the world.

Aotearoa is indeed the fortunate land, home of the long white cloud, mother of the world's most charming and engaging wines. Good vineyards from Marlborough's sunny Wairau plain have contributed parcels of vivacious Sauvignon Blanc to be fashioned into a refreshingly fruit driven, distinctively regional white. A spritely effort with luscious fruit characters and clean flavours, perfect to accompany fresh seafood, tasty hors d'oeuvres and all good faire.

Rarely ever made in vineyards of the new world, Vin Gris is a Blanc de Noirs, rather common in many parts of Europe, where grapes of either colour can be mix and matched for a rainbow of wine styles. Felton Road treat their Pinot Noir to a whole bunch press and prompt draining of skins, infusing the juices with rakish coppery hues and just a soupçon of textural grape tannin. A prettily perfumed nose of strawberry and wild flower, Vin Gris palate is laden with fruits yet pleasingly dry, herbaceousness and apple, its long, tasty finish, seasoned by sprigs of fennel and bay.

Central Otago is the most southerly wine region in the world, at the edge of sustainable viticulture. Hot days, cool nights and long dry autumns are perfect. Clones on a variety of low vigor rootstocks were planted to free draining, low fertility soils during the 1990s. Felton Road's unique gravity flow techniques permit juices to peacefully ferment and tranquilly age in oak, sparing the wine any trauma as it gently evolves. The ultimate integrity of texture encourages the palate to open softly, blooming with dainty florals and ripe fresh stonefruit over a pleasing seam of juicy minerality.

The illustrious Mendoza clone Chardonnay was planted 1992 to a gentle east facing slope right next to Block 3. Grapes are whole bunch pressed and gravity fed to seasoned French oak for a wild indigenous yeast vinification. Ferments remain in barrel for a long and languid sixteen months maturation. A multi dimensional Chardonnay in the well established, mouth filling style of Central Otago. The palate is where it all becomes more serious with an array grilled nut and baked goody flavours, the deep schist soils of Block 2 are conspicuous and up front in the lengthy mineral finish.

The efforts of Fairhall Downs make a good case that small is beautiful. Restricted cropping and a back to basics approach in viticulture achieves the purest, most natural wines. Fruit is often selectively hand picked, vine by vine as grapes achieve ripeness. The essential Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc with intense aromas and vibrant flavours.

A pure single vineyard Pinot Gris grown to the most splendid aspects of Brancott Valley. This exceptional terroir, a combination of superb free draining soils and low annual rainfall with good sun exposure, create the optimum conditions for grapes which translate into some of New Zealand's finest wines. Fairhall Downs looks close to rivalling those exuberant Pinot Gris which are most famously produced in Alsace.

Essenze is a pure expression of New Zealand viticulture. From their bountiful vineyards near the heart of the South Island, long, dry summers and abundant sunshine stimulate the vines to yield the most luscious white Pinot grapes. Sheltered from coastal winds by a low range of hills, the fruit ripens to perfection until harvest, determined on the basis of splendid natural sugars and complimenting acids, whereupon the Pinot Gris is picked by hand. A rich, luminous wine with exquisite varietal expression, spice, stonefruit and nut characters.

Marlborough experiences growing conditions for Sauvignon Blanc that are second to none. The distinctive pungency and zesty fruit flavours have established a unique style that is famous the world over. Abundant sunshine, cool nights and a long growing season translates into vibrant wines with distinctive flavours and character. Essenze is an intensely rejuvenating experience by virtue of its alluring scents of gooseberry and green vegetable up front, followed by a steely, mineral palate which finishes satisfyingly dry and laden with lingering fruits.

The team at Dusky Sounds harvest the fruit of an enchanted land to assemble clean and vibrant wines with intense flavours. Marlborough is a place of distinctive regional expression, that's immediately recognized and loved throughout the world. Marlborough has its own special environment, native flora and fauna which are truly unique, sunshine and soils that are heaven sent for the creation of Sauvignon Blanc, second to none in the world of lusciously fruit driven white wines. Succulent, full of tropical flavours and ripe citrus notes, a crisp, rejuvenating finish.

Pristine soils, pure waters and cool maritime winds are at the genesis of Dusky Sounds Pinot Gris. The cool nights and ample sunshine extend the ripening period, perfect for concentrating flavours and intensifying the aromatics. Grapes are carefully selected from splendid vineyards in the Wairau and Awatere Valleys. Grapes are immediately pressed with minimal skin contact to preserve the sensational complexity and funk of Marlborough Pinot Gris. Exhilarating and fresh, to serve slightly chilled alongside scallops and oysters, grilled fishes or soft wet cheese.

Drylands really are the top shelf of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. The unique soils of Marlborough's golden triangle are home to the Drylands wineworks and illustrious Home Block vineyard, established 1980, one of Marlborough’s oldest sites, where the quality of fruit is nothing less than outstanding, each and every year. Drylands is assembled from parcels picked off the finest small Sauvignon Blanc vineyards, selected on the basis of intensity, structure and balance, each contributes its own exquisite elegance, character and style.

The Awatere Valley sub region of Marlborough offers a unique mesoclime, shaped by the strong coastal winds, low rainfall, intense sunshine and cool nights. Vines enduring these conditions yield vibrant, intensely flavoured grapes which can make vigorously fruit driven Sauvignon Blanc wines with a palpable mineral character. Distinctively Awatere Valley, a range of characters on the nose and palate transpire from the synergy between parcels of fruit, hand selected off choice sites.

The greater Marlborough region has two distinct mesoclimes which grow unique styles of Pinot Gris. Vines planted to good sites in Awatere Valley are stimulated by low rainfall and strong coastal winds, intense sunshine yet cool nights. Wairau Valley offers an abundance of sunshine, long autumns and crisp cool winters. Both yield harvests of world class white wine grapes. Drift take their pick of each, to create a wine with wonderful roundness of palate, a vibrant yet elegant expression of Marlborough, replete with the essential elements of Wairau and Awatere Pinot Gris.

The wines of Dog Point are a natural expression of the land whence they originate. Fruit is sourced off choice blocks dating back to the late 1970s. These older well established sites are a neighbour of the first commercial vineyard in Marlborough, established by Montana in 1973. Section 94 is a special bottling from a single superior block which produces a distinctly flavoured wine, attenuated to please those who would prefer not to drink a lychee flavoured, grass and gooseberry, Marlborough fruit bomb.

Dog Point took the wine world by storm, purely on the basis of its exceptional Sauvignon Blanc. One of the oldest vineyards in Marlborough, Dog Point sold grapes to other companies until they began bottling wine under their own label. Topography, the lie of land and quality of soils are crucial to the character of Marlborough's remarkable world class vintages. Dog Point's vines are mostly planted to free draining silty clay loams on the flatter aspects of Marlborough, salubrious soils which infuse grapes with luscious citrus and grapefruit flavours.

Dog Point combines the considerable experiences of Ivan and Margaret Sutherland with James and Wendy Healy, fully focused on crafting distinctive and expressive new world wines. The Grand Cru of Marlborough Chardonnay, seamlessly melded with layers of gunflint, toasty oak and nutty detail, infused with luxurious oxidative complexities. More in the style of a good Chablis than anything Marlborough, generous, delicious, powerful yet refined.

The third release of this pure, single vineyard Sauvignon Blanc. Dancing Water is driven by the vision of Ross Trowsdale and Clare Bisso. Trowsdale studied viticulture and oenology, after which he travelled and worked vintages in the new and old world for a number of great producers, Pegasus Bay and Felton Road, Wyndham Estate and Cristom Vineyards, Weingut Stefanshof and Alois Kracher. These experiences have nurtured a love and respect for fine wine and the making of it.

In the crowded world of wine, New Zealand is paradise for Sauvignon Blanc and Marlborough sits at the heart of it all. The abundant sunshine, low rainfall, cool nights and long growing seasons, all contribute to the vibrant, zesty fruit flavours which make wines from this corner of the world so distinctive. The fruit is the focus of Crowded House, sourcing the finest possible from dedicated growers is fundamental. Marlborough's best vineyards form the foundations for Crowded House, a Sauvignon Blanc that's generous and in perfect balance.

To make the best Pinot Gris possible, one needs to control every step of the winemaking. Crowded House source grapes from their very own estate vineyard in Marlborough. The unique profiles of the Pinot Gris from this single wonderful site, imparts a combination of delicate and exotic fruit characters. At the winery, the team simply allow the vineyard and grapes to express themselves with as little intervention as possible, permitting all the wonder and charm of Marlborough Pinot Gris to shine through.

The Cloudy Bay winemaking team suggested doing the unthinkable in vintage 1991. Why not ferment some juice with indegenous yeast, completely wild microflora, untrained and uncultured? This was uncharted territory in New Zealand and only nature could decide the outcome. A few barrels were set aside for trial, the juices quickly fermented into a pungent brew. Unperturbed, the winemakers let nature take it's course until spring, when the ugly duckling had morphed into a savoury complex wine of great intensity and voluptuous mouthfeel.

Crafted to a combination of traditional, minimalist and exacting winemaking techniques by one of New Zealand's most prominent labels, Cloudy Bay is an engaging, mouthfilling and textural Marlborough Chardonnay. Layered with a generosity of citrus and stonefruit flavours, the fruit is enhanced by an attractive nuttiness and subtle oak influence. Cloudy Bay is delicious in its youth, generous with piquant grapefruit complexity, enhanced by a luxurious biscuit/ mineral richness.

Clifford Bay is situated on the northern coast of South Island, at the southernmost reaches of Cook Strait, adjacent to the North Island's Wellington coast. To the north are the stunning White Cliffs and beyond that lies Cloudy Bay. Clifford Bay's wines are all about clear expression of varietal flavour and defined Marlborough regionality. Sauvignon Blanc is sourced from the Awatere and Wairau Valleys. All vineyards are managed to environmentally friendly systems and the Clifford Bay Winery is Sustainable Winegrowing of New Zealand certified.

The precious vines at Clifford Bay are nurtured throughout the growing season by an experienced, motivated and highly talented team. One of their most charming achievements is the subtle elegance of Pinot Gris grown to the low yielding site. The wine exudes aromas of pear, apples and spice followed by a well rounded palate with concentration of flavour. A lively finish exhibits the distinctive minerality which is so distinctive of Clifford Bay's rich and generous wines.

Unlabelled Sauvignon Blanc by one of Marlborough's most reputable estates. In a unique and distinctively recognizable growing region such as Marlborough, the most critical work to produce beautiful wine must be done in the vineyard. There is no substitute for well balanced fruit and the maker here has clearly spent time amongst the vines applying the most exacting standards of viticulture right up until harvest. Portions were treated to a luxurious fermentation in oak barriques and puncheons, which contributes a supple undertone of smoky savouriness.

A single vineyard effort by one of Marlborough's most devout winemakers, Clayfork offers a splendid array of ripe tropical fruit characters with a remarkable capacity to rejuvenate and refresh. This generous Sauvignon Blanc, fruit driven and vital, mates beautifully with all good cuisine and is the coup de grâce alongside shellfish mornay.

Chard Farm was established in 1987 by Motueka brothers Rob and Greg Hay. They were the first to come into the area with the intention of setting up a commercial vineyard, settling on Chard Farm after an exhaustive search for a site which best emulated the cool continental climate and soils of some of the greatest wine producing areas of the world, most notably Burgundy and Alsace. The investigation lead to Central Otago, the long term goal being to craft the finest classic cool climate wines in a structured and generously proportioned old world style.

The goal here is to construct a wine of intensity, complexity and great interest on the palate. Ultimately a wine that will evolve in the glass, revealing a variety of flavours, structures and classic Marlborough textures. The focus is on elegance rather than having any one element dominating the subtler characters and undertones. The fastidiously maintained vines produce clean, ripe fruit which translate into a deeply satisfying Sauvignon Blanc. Catalina Sounds is built to contemporary tastes, immensely flavoursome and ready to enjoy upon release.

Pinot Gris is sourced from Ants Nest Vineyard, high up on a ridge overlooking Marlborough's Waihopai Valley, where Catalina Sounds have taken a very hands on role to husbanding vines. The team are devoted to fashioning highly expressive wines that stand the test of being fully approachable when young, whilst carrying the palate weight and quality of fruit to mate with fine faire and develop in the short term. Catalina Sounds exudes bright varietal characters of peaches and nut with the distinctive luscious lychee expression of Marlborough.

Montana was launched to international renown in 1990 when it won the Marquis De Goulaine Trophy for best Sauvignon Blanc anywhere in the world. Now considered the benchmark in New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, Brancott by Montana is an assemblage of fruit grown to choice Marlborough sites. Three main terroirs predominate, on the northern side of Wairau Valley are young soils based on river silts and stone. At the southern end are older clay deposits, a divergence of terrains which yield Sauvignon Blanc harvests of unique and individual charm.

Marlborough's natural endowments are breathtaking to behold, the vastness and bounty of this beautiful land stirs the imagination and yields no finer example of Sauvignon Blanc than Braided River. The principal vineyard for Braided River sits on the confluence of the mighty Wairau and Waihopai Rivers in Marlborough. Riper characters here are achieved at lower sugar levels, offering great intensity and style at moderate alcohol levels.

Babich can lay singular claim to coaxing some of the most articulate varietal wines from both of New Zealand's majestic Isles. This eminent winemaking estate pioneered the dearly loved Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc genre, it endures to this day in a fuller, riper, softer style that drinks beautifully on release. An assemblage of fruit grown to finer Marlborough vineyards has been seamlessly fashioned into a tropical, refreshing and clean wine that calls for chicken caesar and the freshest fish.

The founders of Babich were visionaries who succeeded in bringing the wines of New Zealand to the world. A collation of fruit from several splendid Marlborough vineyards is assembled into a rich, full bodied Pinot Gris, offering brisk vitality and exquisite style. Partially barrel fermented for richness and complexity, Babich exhibits ripe stonefruit and spice flavours before a soft, medium dry finish. The Marlborough white of choice to accompany the freshest fish, a match to crumbed and shallow fried snapper fillets.

There are three blocks of Sauvignon Blanc at Amisfield, near the shores of Lake Dunstan in Central Otago. Older vines at the edge of Rocky Knoll yield fruit with delicious ripe stone fruit characters and pronounced minerality. Younger plantings on a beautiful elevated terrace above the winery provide grapes which are brim full of vim and vigor. A combination of wild indigenous yeast vinifications, oak barrel ferments and sedimentery lees stirring, achieves a singularly vigorous and compelling case for Central Otago Sauvignon Blanc.

The fleshy voluptuousness and mouth filling generosity of Central Otago Pinot Gris, hand picked off the top terrace of Amisfield's vineyard, grapes are all gently pressed for a long cool ferment, partially in a selection of seasoned French oak barrels for roundness and complexity, followed by a term of age on light sedimentery lees. A textural and persistent Pinot Gris style,saturated with all the classic varietal characters, spices, shortbread and white fleshy pear, the mouth filling richness of barrel ferments, magnificently balanced with perfectly pitched acidity and delicate residual sweetness.