Join the global cheers to our favourite wine

Join the global cheers to our favourite wine - it’s #SauvBlanc Day!

Today is #SauvBlanc Day, where wine lovers around the globe toast to Sauvignon Blanc – the crisp, refreshing, zingy drop that has taken the world by storm – and accounts for New Zealand exports worth over $1 billion annually1.

With the sun rising first in New Zealand, #SauvBlanc Day celebrations officially kick off here on Friday 24 April, making their way around the globe, finishing off 43 hours later at Twitter Headquarters in San Francisco.

It’s fitting that the party starts here – and we definitely have a lot to celebrate - as it’s very likely that many Sauvy lovers will reach for a Kiwi drop, particularly on our shores where it’s our #1 wine varietal2. In just a few decades, New Zealand has gone from producing barely any Sauvy, to becoming the world’s leading producers of Sauvignon Blanc.

It’s all thanks to a pair of brothers who started out in a tin shed in Auckland just over forty years ago, Bill and Ross Spence, co-founders of Matua.

“Bill and Ross made the wine that made New Zealand famous. When they produced the first bottle of New Zealand Sauvy back in 1974 people thought they were mad, but they knew they were on to something special,” says Matua Chief Winemaker Nikolai St George.

“Prior to this, New Zealanders were drinking wines such as Pinotage, Riesling Sylvaner, and Mueller Thurgau, and there were mainly hybrid grape varieties planted here. But Bill and Ross wanted to produce something classic and felt that Sauvignon Blanc showed great varietal character.

“Today many of the plantings of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc are direct descendants of the vines that Matua grew in the 1970s.

“The world has fallen in love with New Zealand Sauvy because it is so distinctive and flavoursome - it’s aromatic, refreshing, non-pretentious and great value for money. It’s also the perfect entertaining wine that pairs beautifully with food from fish and seafood, to salads, goat’s cheese and green vegetables,” says St George.

Celebrate your love of New Zealand Sauvy on #SauvBlanc Day on April 24 with a glass of Matua and spread the word with the hashtags #SauvBlanc #TasteTheFirst

ENDS

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