Sauvign-gone ...

New Zealand dominates the Sauvignon Blanc market, however, a perfect storm of weather and pandemic-induced issues has resulted in a shortage of the popular grape. Nobody panic!

We may have had a tough couple of years in the UK, but New Zealand's wine producers have been battling a perfect storm of unfortunate events as they strive to meet the increasing demand for their coveted Sauvignon Blanc. So, despite the winemakers' best efforts, 2022 looks likely to see a shortage of the firm favourite.

Mother Nature levelled a raft of adverse climate conditions at the country in 2021, which compounded issues already in place as a result of pandemic-induced restrictions, labour shortages and supply challenges. The 2021 harvests in Marlborough, Wairarapa, Nelson and North Canterbury were down around 20 per cent due to early budbursts, extreme spring frosts and summer drought conditions.

Rachel Gibson (pictured) of Huia Vineyards, a biodynamic and organic family-run Marlborough vineyard, reveals how they've tried to weather the storm:

‘The last two years have been incredibly challenging generally, but the poor harvests of 2021 were a further blow for vineyards in several areas of New Zealand. Huia was able to buy in some additional biodynamic organic Sauvignon Blanc grapes from a nearby vineyard to increase our volumes slightly but, even for us, the 2021 vintage was smaller so supply will be limited.’

Huia was able to offset some of the labour shortages thanks to the helping hands of friends and family, but the vineyard remains susceptible to the supply chain issues that still hinder New Zealand's winemakers.

‘The lead time on the delivery of production essentials like our eco-glass bottles, labels, capsules and boxes has trebled since the pandemic began. Shipping issues have had a massive impact across New Zealand, with people struggling to get cargo space, containers not being loaded onto ships, ports being short-staffed and some ships even bypassing New Zealand completely. All these factors have added two to three months to delivery schedules.’

Thankfully for fans of the country's famed Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand's winemakers are a resilient bunch. The small, perfectly formed but strictly limited 2021 vintage will soon be followed by what looks to be an excellent 2022. And Huia have managed to get enough of its pre-pandemic Sauvignon Blanc over to the UK to tide over everyone who has a taste for fresh gooseberry notes and delicious tart acidity. be an excellent 2022’

‘Huia releases its Sauvignon Blanc a little later than many other producers, as the wine spends six months on lees before bottling,' says Rachel.

‘We've used this time to plan ahead and allocate wine to key markets. We haven't run out yet but there is none to spare. We're expecting a 15 per cent increase in the 2022 harvest, but this is still likely to be tightly allocated due to the high global demand.’

Of course, New Zealand isn't the only country that produces Sauvignon Blanc grapes. The shortage provides an opportunity to venture from the Southern hemisphere to explore the delights of the grape variety when grown in France, Spain, Italy and beyond.

Read on for Dan's picks from the rest of the world – and find the New Zealand favourites still in stock at Wickhams.