­A genuinely successful wine must have its own flav­or , its own fiber . It must be distinctive in style , perceptiveness and aroma – after all , 12 of regions develop the same character of wine-colored , their own Cabernets , their own Merlots , their own Chardonnays , their own Rieslings . So what , then , makes one wine so much better over its counterpart in a dissimilar region ? You ’d probably guess that an domain with a prospicient account of winemaking would be the success . After all , experience count . However , you ’d be severely - pressed to explicate the consuming popularity and success of the Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc .

The Marlborough wine region , located on the easterly glide of New Zealand ’s South Island , is the leading vino manufacturer in the country , but it ’s been establish wine-colored only within the last half - 100 . And it was n’t until the mid-1970s that the Sauvignon Blanc grape , for which the neighborhood has welcome worldwide plaudit , was even planted [ seed : Apstein ] .

­Luckily for Marlborough , the region seems to have the exact clime that the Sauvignon Blanc grape vine loves . Somehow , a perfect storm is created and these grape have a bold , zingy flavour ( cry pierce , thrilling and electrifying by various critics ) that wine lovers ca n’t get enough of . It ’s so good that even the French – who have been at this a peck longer than the Kiwis – ar­e essay to simulate them [ source : Quaffers ] . It ’s all moderately telling for a realm that ’s only been at this for about 30 years .

So how did a small New Zealand region that had no interest in winemaking 50 years ago become the drawing card of its land ’s wine production ? How did this wine become the envy of its competitor ? In this clause you ’ll learn the key as you discover the history , finish and USDA of the Marlborough wine region , as well as the other wines of the region that respectfully hold their own .

Let ’s start at the showtime by learning about the Marlborough region ’s short but sweet-smelling winemaking history .

Marlborough Wine Region History and Culture

The Marlborough wine region is the largest manufacturer of wine in New Zealand , but only a propagation or two ago the region was scarcely producing any wine at all . Though evidence of grape vines in the area date back to the 1870s , it was n’t for almost another century that viniculturists began set grapevine and cultivating them for wine production . Marlborough did n’t get down export wine until 1963 and did n’t start planting the Sauvignon Blanc , the grape to which it owe its renown and fortune , until the 1970s [ source : Wine Marlborough ] .

In just a few short years , Marlborough ’s more than 27,000 Akka ( 11,000 hectares ) of vine have pushed to become the drawing card in New Zealand wine [ source : Wine Marlborough ] . Though New Zealand is emphatically not the top wine-colored nation in the worldly concern , if you screw anything about its wine-colored you ’ve likely heard about the Marlborough wine region . It ’s responsible for more than half of the intact country ’s total wine production – a image that has quadrupled in just the past decade .

Read on to learn about the agriculture of the Marlborough wine-coloured region .

Marlborough Wine Region Agriculture

decided contrast is the key when discussing the Marlborough wine-colored region ’s agriculture , in both the soil and the climate . With the mountains to the west and H2O to the eastward , the area gets a lot of sun . How much ? The town of Blenheim has the most temperateness of any place in New Zealand , coupled with downcast average rainfalls [ root : Wine Marlborough ] . The warm , gay summer days – with a pleasant seasonal middling temperature of 75 degree Fahrenheit ( 25 degrees Celsius ) – give way to cool night . This 24-hour interval / night dividing line makes a perfect environment for the grapes . It enhances the grapes ' acidity and tang and gives them upright color [ seed : Discover Marlborough ] .

The soils of the Wairau Plain and Awatere Valley are traditionally miserable for growing . They are n’t very fertile and are full of stones and grit [ source : Wine Marlborough ] . However , one person ’s meth is another soul ’s – or in this case , grapeshot ’s – treasure . This quickly draining , shallow soil is ideal for grapevine and their vines , which fly high in originate conditions that would induce many other plant to shrivel up .

Meanwhile , in Kaikoura , the domain near the coast , the soils are much more calcareous and full of sandy limestone from the sea . It ’s a bit cooler here , but the arena gets a shade more sun than the Wairau Plain or Awatere Valley , allowing the grape to ripen easy and evenly [ source : Discover Marlborough ] .

show on to find what variety of wine-colored are democratic in New Zealand ’s head wine - give rise realm .

Famous Wines of the Marlborough Wine Region

In some regions , one wine is the clear loss leader . Other areas raise seemingly everything and anything , making it tough to plunk a winner . New Zealand ’s Marlborough wine-coloured region falls somewhere in between . There are about five quality vino within the realm , so you have a few to choose from . However , Sauvignon Blanc is the definite succeeder here – it takes up 65 percent of the region ’s product and is inarguably the cause for Marlborough ’s leading and celebrity in New Zealand ’s wine production : Sauvignon Blanc [ rootage : Wine Marlborough ] .

The Sauvignon Blanc of Marlborough is easily characterise by its distinctive quality , which make it a bit unlike any other Sauvignon Blanc you might find from another area or region . It ’s known as stimulate " a pierce citric quality and thrilling edge " [ source : Apstein ] . This whitened wine-colored does n’t need to be age – in fact , its intensiveness is best enjoy right after production , as aging can dull what make up it unequalled . That ’s why many winery in Marlborough use screw caps instead of corks . This progressively democratic technique is often used with the region ’s Sauvignon Blanc – a bobber could change its flavor and cause it to lose its emphatic , bold tang .

The realm ’s broadly fruity wines also include :

This late - bloomer winemaking area is quickly taking the wine populace by storm . If you like an in - your - face wine , you ’ll sure enough desire to check out Marlborough ’s famed Sauvignon Blanc .

For more data , visit the contact on the next page .

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