Welcome back to our weekly blog, and the first post for 2018! This one is from our wine expert, Neil Hodgson, and in this article, he’s talking Nelson Sauvignon Blanc, pop down to Fresh Choice Nelson for yours!
Sauvignon Blanc is still the most important grape variety for the New Zealand wine industry, and while Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is the brand the world recognises as being special to New Zealand, the industry is lucky that when the variety is produced in other regions, the finished wine still has flavours consumers worldwide love.
Nelson Sauvignon Blanc still has vibrant tropical fruit aromas and flavours, but with a twist, the acidity tends to be much softer. So while the flavours are familiar the texture of the wine is much more approachable; with classic, crisp Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc I struggle a bit with the harshness in the acidity so normally I can only drink a glass or two, with Nelson Sauvignon Blanc I am happy to consume more.
Of course, there are exceptions to this, some producers in Marlborough are delivering wines with riper acidity, or barrel fermented versions, while some in Nelson are producing crisper versions.
The Grocer at Fresh Choice Nelson City has a huge range of Nelson Sauvignon Blanc for you to choose from, ranging in price from about $10 to $25. They include many organic wines and, from Seifried Estate, the Old Coach Road lighter alcohol Sauvignon Blanc, a wine currently on promotion at Fresh Choice Nelson for $10 a bottle.
The Brightside Organic Sauvignon Blanc on promotion at $14.99 is packed with flavour and delivers quality way above its price point while examples from Neudorf Vineyards ($21), Brightwater Vineyards ($18), Greenhough Vineyards ($17), Blackenbrook Vineyards ($18) and Richmond Plains ($18.99) are all examples of Nelson Sauvignon Blanc with beautiful ripe fruit and obvious but gentle acidity; they are just delicious wines.
So next time you are looking for Sauvignon Blanc with those classic flavours we all love but with softer acidity that makes them gentler on the digestive system then choose one grown and produced in Nelson.
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