Million milestone for Kim Crawford Wines

Media release million – 1
4 March 2013

Million milestone for Kim Crawford Wines

New Zealand brand Kim Crawford Wines has hit a record one million case sales in the past 12 months with 60 per cent of them going to the USA.

The Kim Crawford label, launched in 1996, has been part of the Constellation Brands NZ Limited portfolio since 2006 with global sales having grown significantly since that time.

Constellation New Zealand’s President Joe Stanton says Kim Crawford is a raging success story overseas and represents in excess of 45 per cent of all Constellation exports.

“It is sold in more than 50 countries and 88 per cent of Kim Crawford wine going offshore is Sauvignon Blanc,” Mr Stanton says

Constellation Brands New Zealand is the leading exporter of New Zealand wine into the North American markets driven by the success of Kim Crawford.

The North American thirst for this fine Kiwi wine shows no signs of abating, Mr Stanton says. Kim Crawford enjoys the status of the best selling New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc in both the USA and Canada. Sales into North America have grown more than 20 per cent in the past twelve months alone.

“New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is unmatched globally because of its unique flavour profile resulting from our particular soil, climate and growing conditions. It has vibrant, zesty and pungent aromas and intense fruit flavours very much in favour in North America.

“Add to that Constellation’s extensive marketing and distribution networks which give us great market penetration and really this lovely wine from Marlborough in the South Island is simply a global winner,” Mr Stanton says.

The 2012 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is the work of a talented group of winemakers led by Kim Crawford Senior Winemaker Anthony Walkenhorst who is based at the company’s Riverland Winery in Blenheim.

Walkenhorst says his Sauvignon Blanc is a crisp and powerful, well balanced wine with intense aromas of gooseberry, passion fruit and citrus flavours.

“We use grapes from all over the Marlborough region where vineyards are selected by flavour profile for a desired outcome. We aim for a blend with a wide range of flavours from the tropical fruits to the herbaceous flavours.”

Kim Crawford Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc has been available in offshore markets since 1996. New Zealand has around 20,000 hectares of Sauvignon Blanc grapes planted [Source: nzwine.com] and the industry exports around 150 million litres of the variety annually.

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