Maligned by many, adored by more, Sauvignon Blanc divides wine-drinkers – and no more so than the wine-drinking elite. But why? Vinfolio’s Sophie Thorpe talks to the people behind some of the world’s best examples to explore the grape’s status today It’s easy to sneer at Sauvignon Blanc. Its success has been its downfall. It’s…
A recent study conducted in New Zealand could explain the source of New Zealand and Napa Valley’s one-of-a-kind terroir flavors.1 Terroir characteristics in wine have little to do with minerals in the soil, and everything to do with the yeast strain S. cerevisiae, according to this study. Certain strains of this yeast, which seem…
Thomas Jefferson once wrote, “I think it is a great error to consider a heavy tax on wines as a tax on luxury. On the contrary, it is a tax on the health of our citizens.” At the time this quote was written, Jefferson was in an intense fight against British taxation in the United…
More than 20 years ago, serious wine collectors never spoke about New Zealand wines. Despite an ideal climate and rocky terrain, the country’s producers only began cultivating grapevines in earnest in the late 1980s. Today, wine is New Zealand’s largest export, earning more than $1.3 billion annually. The popularity of New Zealand wines has…