In a week or so there will be some titanic battles taking place in rugby stadiums in Japan – with New Zealand being South Africa’s favourite foe between the white lines. But a more low-key battle is being fought on the shelves in retailers locally and abroad, one bottle of Sauvignon Blanc at a time.
Winemakers from the Land of the Long White Cloud are recognised for “owning” the New World Sauvignon Blanc segment of the market. They even coined the term “savvy” for their favourite white wine.
Yet South Africa’s Sauvignon Blanc producers are being fairly savvy themselves when it comes to this grape, since the thesaurus states that synonyms for savvy include: canniness, astuteness, shrewdness, sharp witted, insightful and perceptive. Winemakers are putting up a lovely range of accomplished, confident wines which display a variety of styles. In my opinion, it won’t be long before the international markets increasingly appreciate this diversity on offer.
Last month a panel of tasters gathered for the annual FNB Sauvignon Blanc Top 10 judging – and as one of their number I must admit that I was not just surprised but seriously impressed by the quality of South Africa’s Sauvignon Blanc.
The results will only be announced on October 9 but I believe this is one of the country’s most rapidly improving categories.
As fellow panellist and judge Wilhelm Pienaar of Hermanuspietersfontein quipped at one point during the assessment, “People talk Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc – but drink Sauvignon!” The figures bear him out: Sauvignon Blanc is South Africa’s top selling white wine.
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