From the CEO: It's time to have your say
New Zealand Winegrowers is entering the final phases of a process to update its funding, governance and representation of members.
The impact of those two decisions and many more that followed, by pioneers such as David Hohnen and Ernie Hunter, forever changed the direction of the New Zealand wine industry, and indeed the world of wine as a whole.
Oz Clarke described the impact better than anyone else when he spoke at the 2016 Sauvignon Blanc Celebration in Marlborough:
“I know when I first discovered that Sauvignon Blanc has a sense of place. It was on February 1st, 1989, at 11 in the morning. On the 17th floor of New Zealand House in London. Just inside the door on the left. Third wine along. That’s the first time I tasted a Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, in New Zealand’s South Island. That’s when Montana 1983 Sauvignon was introducing itself to the world.
“My world of wine would never be the same again. There had never before been a wine that crackled and spit its flavours at you from the glass. A wine that took the whole concept of green – and expanded it, stretched it and pummelled it and gloriously re-interpreted it in a riot of gooseberry and lime zest, green apples, green pepper sliced through with an ice cold knife of steel, piles of green grass, the leaves from a blackcurrant bush, and, just in case this was all too much to take – a friendly dash of honey and the chaste kiss of a peach.
“And did that taste of somewhere? It sure did. It tasted of somewhere no one knew. It tasted of a somewhere that hadn’t existed before – ever. It tasted of a whole new world of wine that was going to be full of somewhere that had never existed before. It tasted of a whole new world of wine which would no longer make you wait a generation to be taken seriously as a winemaker – a whole new world of wine that would allow you to take your very first brave efforts as a winemaker – plonk them down on the table and cry – beat that, old timers.”
With more than 29,000 hectares planted today, Sauvignon Blanc vineyards represent more than two-thirds of total planted area. This dominance testifies to the success our wineries have had with this variety on the world stage, which in turn has fuelled the planting of an increasing area of Sauvignon vines around the motu.
The vineyard stats are reflected in the production data. In 2025 80% of all grapes harvested were Sauvignon Blanc, with Marlborough by far the largest producer, at more than 90%. However, Sauvignon Blanc is not just a Marlborough story – in many regions Sauvignon Blanc is the dominant grape variety. In vintage 2025 this was the case in Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, Wairarapa, Nelson and North Canterbury, as well as Marlborough. The production stats in turn drive the New Zealand export numbers. By volume, Sauvignon Blanc accounts for 89% of export volume, which means around $1.7 billion of export value during the past 12 months.
This export growth reflects the success of Sauvignon Blanc in capturing the hearts and minds of consumers in our major markets. In the United Kingdom off trade (for example, supermarket and retail stores) New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc has captured 44% of the total Sauvignon Blanc market volume and 51% of the value. The numbers are similar in Australia, with 42% of the volume and 56% of the value of the Sauvignon Blanc market. And in the United States, our major export destination, 39% of the market by volume and 45% value has been won by our Sauvignons. It is telling than in all three markets we command a higher value than volume share – meaning consumers pay more for our wines on average than they do for Sauvignon Blanc from other countries.
What all those numbers mean is that every year more than 2.1b glasses of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc are consumed by our customers around the world – that’s 67 glasses per second, for each and every tick of the clock over 365 days. And we know for a fact there are still plenty of opportunities out there – whether in the US, China or elsewhere.
That consumer demand testifies to the fundamental truth of Oz Clarke’s statement – our wines started on the road to success in the 1980s not because they were the same, but because they were different, and consumers continue to love that difference. They helped redefine modern wine styles for modern consumers living in a modern world.
So, cheers to Sauvignon Blanc and all the growers, makers, marketers, importers, distributors, retailers, influencers and consumers who have made New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc such a success story. Now we have very simple task in front of us – build on that legacy so that in another 50 years our Sauvignon Blancs are even more important for our industry, the global wine market and consumers.
