Sauvignon Blanc
Admired for its fresh acidity and intense zesty flavours and aromas.
The room-filling aromatics and strikingly crisp character of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc are why it is so popular and such a memorable experience. Dig a little deeper and you’ll uncover a highly expressive wine style, capable of huge variety and differentiation, which we express to its fullest extent across our range.
At Villa Maria we prioritise ripeness in our Sauvignon Blanc wines, often picking later than other wineries to ensure maximum fruit flavour to balance the powerful natural acidity of this varietal. If you picture the fruit flavours in the wine as a delicious fruit salad, the types of fruits you can taste more of can vary significantly depending on where the wine was grown. With extensive vineyards sited across Marlborough’s two main valleys, we create all manner of Sauvignon Blanc styles, from the intensely tropical to the breathtakingly citrus and the balanced in between. We’re certain to have a Sauvignon Blanc that suits you!
Regional characteristics
We produce a wide range of Sauvignon Blanc wines, all from the Marlborough region. With incredible vineyards located throughout Marlborough, each site gives us a wine of its own style.
Awatere Valley
Awatere Sauvignon Blanc is on the pungent, green side of the spectrum, producing crisp, focused and mineral wines with herbaceous, citrus flavours, and a lip smacking salinity.
Wairau Valley
The style of Sauvignon Blanc from the Wairau Valley is ripe and tropical; a pungent style of passionfruit and guava notes that leap out of the glass.
Why Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc?
"As one of the sunniest and driest regions in New Zealand, Marlborough has a distinct advantage in climate. During late summer and autumn our large diurnal variation (warm days and cool nights) helps protect natural acidity important for winemaking, and enhance grape aromatics leading to our success with Sauvignon Blanc. What I love most about Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, is the legacy we are building as a brand and as a country. Sixty years ago no one could’ve predicted the worldwide attention, scale and growth New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc has garnered over the last decade or so. I do believe we produce some of the best Sauvignon Blanc offerings in the world which is confirmed both by consumer demand and global wine critics."
- Helen Morrison, Marlborough Winemaker
Food matching
Sauvignon Blanc is perfectly paired with fresh seafood, such as sautéed scallops or seared snapper, accompanied by a fresh side salad of fresh rocket, goat cheese and melon.
Best served at
8 °C / 46 °F
Read our Guide to New Zealand's Flagship Wine: Sauvignon Blanc
From what makes Marlborough unique in producing the world's most admired Sauvignon Blanc to serving and storing suggestions for your wine, we've collated everything you need to know about this flavour-bursting wine.
Our Iconic Sauvignon Blanc
Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc
This is the Sauvignon Blanc that put Villa Maria on the world map. A blend of both Marlborough’s Wairau and Awatere Valleys our winemakers take great care to ensure this wine showcases exceptional balance and consistency every vintage. Remember what we said earlier about the fruit bowl? This has it all. A myriad of flavours dominated by fresh passionfruit and citrus retained in all their glory by our gentle pressing techniques (less juice from the grape but more flavour) and select yeast strains. Whilst fresh seafood such as oysters, mussels and white fish are an obvious food match, boldly flavoured Asian or fusion foods including Thai green chicken curry are sublime and meet the wine’s robust acidity head on. If pairing with vegetables, uncooked works better than cooked as it matches the freshness of the wine - think fresh leafy greens, cucumber and raw tomato.
Reserve Wairau Valley Sauvignon Blanc
The well-protected Wairau Valley is Marlborough’s largest and warmest and is the exclusive source of this sub-regional expression of Sauvignon Blanc. Warmth equals ripeness and this wine and the overtly ‘green’ character found in wines from the Awatere Valley. This wine has a ripe, round feel in the mouth with luxurious layers of passionfruit and guava subduing some of acidity and giving the wine an extraordinarily long finish. Yields are kept low and only the very best parcels that best express this ripe Wairau style are earmarked for this wine before being given 5-star treatment in the winery such as 1 – 2 months on yeast lees to build palate weight and texture. It has become a signature wine for Villa Maria, loved not only by drinkers worldwide but critics as well.
Taylors Pass Sauvignon Blanc
Taylors Pass Vineyard lies in the Awatere Valley which runs parallel and to the south of the Wairau Valley. Grapes ripen more slowly here being generally cooler and more exposed to prevailing winds leading to incredibly intense flavour development and differentiation in expression even between vineyard sites. Grown and harvested in close proximity to the Awatere River the wine echoes its character in the glass with a chalky, almost flinty mineral texture reminiscent of the wet river stones that lie nearby. The cool characteristics of this Awatere Valley site shine through with a sweet and sour tension in bright, concentrated flavours of jalapeño and lemongrass with a punchy finish of lime zest carrying itself through to a lengthy finish on the palate. This extraordinary wine truly expresses its tūrangawaewae or its sense of place and is a great place to start if exploring Single Vineyard expressions of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.
Recipe Inspirations
Whether you’re a passionate at home chef who loves to create gourmet feasts or someone who likes to keep it simple, take your homecooked creations to new heights with these wonderful Sauvignon Blanc food pairings.
Lemongrass & Chili Steamed Mussels
Paired with our Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc
Awaken your senses with our Lemongrass & Chili Steamed Mussels recipe perfectly paired with the gooseberry, passionfruit and fresh citrus flavours in our Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.
Grilled Asparagus & Pine Nut Salad
Paired with our Reserve Sauvignon Blanc
This fresh and vibrant green salad is the perfect side dish to accompany the bright and zesty flavours found in a chilled glass of our Reserve Wairua Valley Sauvignon Blanc.
The Ultimate Grazing Platter
Paired with our Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc
We’ve put together some tips and tricks to help you create a platter that looks amazing, tastes incredible, and pairs beautifully with a crisp, chilled glass of our Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.
