The Story of Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon Blanc originated in France's Loire Valley, where it produces some of the world's most distinctive white wines under names like Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé. The name comes from "sauvage" — wild — which is apt. This grape has a personality you cannot mistake or ignore.
Its calling card is a pronounced herbaceous, aromatic character — grass, green bell pepper, asparagus, gooseberry, and sometimes a burst of passion fruit in warmer climates. It's the kind of wine people either fall in love with immediately or find overwhelming. There's rarely a neutral opinion.
New Zealand's Marlborough region turned Sauvignon Blanc into a global phenomenon in the 1980s and 1990s, producing a bold, tropical, intensely aromatic style that found enormous commercial success. Today it's one of the most planted white varieties in the world.