These days, if you are into political correctness and happen to be a Marlborough Man, you better have a kiwi accent. Not that calling a New Zealander a ‘kiwi’—the avian equivalent of a sewer rat—is particularly PC.Marlborough is convoluted region of New Zealand’s South Island, and it doesn’t offer much to the nine or ten people on the planet who still smoke, but for cognoscenti of quality .jpg)
sauvignon blanc, it may well outrank King Bordeaux and Queen Loire. Marlborough is home to more than 60% of New Zealand’s entire wine output and claims bragging rights to having introduced the rest of the world to the glories a whole new Valhalla for complex, exciting, concentrated wines.
sauvignon blanc, it may well outrank King Bordeaux and Queen Loire. Marlborough is home to more than 60% of New Zealand’s entire wine output and claims bragging rights to having introduced the rest of the world to the glories a whole new Valhalla for complex, exciting, concentrated wines.Especially sauvignon blanc.
This grape, whose name means ‘savage white,’ has origins in southwestern France, not far from the Spanish .jpg)
border. It’s a fairly forgiving varietal no matter where it is grown, but prospers best in a maritime climate. It loves sun but not much heat, and requires a long growing season with cool nights to sprout its astral, un-kiwi-like wings; cool nights are key to preserving malic acid, which adds counterpoint and complexity to fruit sugars. Herbaceous notes, which may remain masked when the grape is grown in depleted vineyards, bubble to surface in young, nitrogen-rich soils.
border. It’s a fairly forgiving varietal no matter where it is grown, but prospers best in a maritime climate. It loves sun but not much heat, and requires a long growing season with cool nights to sprout its astral, un-kiwi-like wings; cool nights are key to preserving malic acid, which adds counterpoint and complexity to fruit sugars. Herbaceous notes, which may remain masked when the grape is grown in depleted vineyards, bubble to surface in young, nitrogen-rich soils.Marlborough has all the above; thus, the decision to concentrate on sauvignon blanc (and to a lesser extent, like-minded pinot noir and chardonnay), according to Marlborough-born rocket scientist 
William Pickering “isn’t rocket science.”
William Pickering “isn’t rocket science.”Still, when any wine reaches beyond basic quality quotients and tiptoes into the realm of the sublime, there are nuances of flavor, weight and evolution that nearly—but not quite—defy description. In the case of Marlborough sauvignon blanc—nearly always identifiable in blind tastings—it’s a combination of electrifying citrus (inevitably grapefruit and often nectarine), and a subtle but unmistakable flintiness.
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Thirty-five years ago, the reason that nobody spoke about Marlborough sauvignon blancs is that there weren’t any. First cultivated in 1975, the rapidity with which these vines have stolen center stage is astonishing; for the past few years, Marlborough sauvignon blanc has taken home the door prize at the International Wine for Oysters Competition. Now household names, wineries like Hunters Wines, Cloudy Bay Vineyards, Saint Clair Estate Winery and Grove Mill have come of age cutting edges, not corners—pioneering screw caps, for example, while exploiting centuries-old viticulture technique.The result? They’ve taken the yawn out of sauvignon.
Ranking and even surpassing traditional centers for sauvignon blanc like Bordeaux, Sancerre, Quincy and Pouilly-sur-Loire, the leadership role being usurped by Marlborough is (with apologies to Philip Morris) more than smoke and mirrors.
TASTING NOTES:
Hunters Wines Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, 2008, around $19: Grapes from Wairau Valley, minimal handling and anaerobic processing results in a crisp and minimal, oak-free handling results in a crisp, gooseberry laden mouthful with lots of pineapple and honeydew.
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Saint Clair Estate Winery Sauvignon Blanc Reserve, Marlborough, 2008, about $30: Big, dense and well-balanced, yet still nicely crisp with lemon, grapefruit and honeysuckle; a perfect wine for grilled veggies and shrimp.Grove Mill Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, 2008, about $16: Mango, nectarine and grapefruit wrapped in a brambly sports coat; perfumed with pungent guava and a nice dusty mineral bite..jpg)
Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, 2007, about $40: Pretentious price, potent peach and passion fruit on the palate; a full-blown sauvignon with all the components in place. Mineral laden, herbaceous with fresh-cut grass and unmistakable kiwi—that, or the national bird/rodent wandered too close to the fermenting vat.
Comments
Correction there Chris.
It is extremely PC to call a New Zealander a Kiwi, it is term of endearment.
I urge anyone who meets a New Zealander to extend the term Kiwi to them.
Greg - A Kiwi Bloke
Hey There Chris,
GASP!!! I dunno who told you a Kiwi is 'the avian equivalent of a sewer rat' - It is actually our National Bird!
Colin - Another Kiwi Bloke
No worries, Colin; it is okay to have a sewer rat as a national bird. Ours is bald. And guaranteed, yours will never get sucked into a jet engine.
Ditto Greg.
Calling ourselves Kiwi's is a way of identifying ourselves as they unique people we are! And to say Marlborough doesn't offer much other than wine - have you actually been to Marlborough? Or did you get your information third or fourth hand from some other tourist who couldn't find an amusement park or a Starbucks at two in the morning? Marlborough is one of many amazing regions in New Zealand that - as you point out a myriad of wineries (you can't help but stumble across them), great restaurants and accommodations - just as a start. I have been there a number of time on my travels home and never been bored. Perhaps before you write something off - you should actually visit the place. Or even - do your homework a little better next time.
To call our national, endangered bird "the avian equivalent of a sewer rat" seems like yet another example of American ethno-centricism. Kiwi's (bird) are an amazing example of the ability to survival against all the odds.
Echoing the comments above - Chris, please call us Kiwis. It is PC and makes us proud. In fact, it's so intimately associated in our national identity that calling our bird (and therefore us) the equivalent of a sewer rat, well, it's inaccurate and kinda offensive.
Chris, I am indeed a "Marlborough Man" born and raised, and I take umbrage at two things you wrote (not very well I might add).Calling a New Zealander aka: a Kiwi, a sewer rat is not going to win you many friends in the Land of the Long White Cloud; because we, as a people, are a very proud lot who do not like to be preached to by some clown whom may or may not have actually being to the region in which they profess to write! Secondly, do you not like your own country or do you feel inadequate in some way? making fun of ones national symbol screams of a deep seated sense of repression possibly, hmmm.
Anyway, aside from the idiotic attempt of trying to grab the readers attention with your first paragraph, which you did but also alienated the readers from the rest of the story, I did think it was a very amusing story whether you wanted it to be or not. In future, please refrain from insulting the very people and product you are reviewing as it will not help your writing career in any way.
Regards
A W Green
Expat-Kiwi, and proud of it, living in the Chicagoland area, USA
Herr Green, your concern for my career has touched me to tears, really it has. As to your question, yes, I have all sorts of issues with my country, but at least I live in it. Why you left yours to settle in mine (and Chicago no less, only a bit less of a frozen crime-ridden dump than Detroit) is perplexing indeed. In future, how about this? I say whatever I want as therapy for my repression and you grow a sense of humor to compliment your psycho nationalism. Works for me, ya mog.
And as for you, Jusamby: By golly do I wish I had a kiwi right now, I swear to God I would roast the delightful wee critter by the billabong and eat it whole, useless feathers and all. How’s that for homework?
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