Celebrate Sauvignon Blanc on May 17

Media Release

14 May 2013

Celebrate Sauvignon Blanc on May 17

There's no doubt about it, Sauvignon Blanc is special. It is the varietal that awoke the world to New Zealand wine and continues to dazzle wine critics across the world. Accounting for 84% of wine exported from New Zealand, the world seems to have an insatiable thirst for Sauvignon Blanc's crisp acidity and unmistakable 'zing'.

May 17 2013 marks the fourth annual International Sauvignon Blanc Day – an online initiative that started in California with St Supery Winery as a global social media wine tasting. The event gets bigger every year and New Zealand Winegrowers is now involved to ensure New Zealand wine is well represented.

Restaurants, retailers and consumers around the world - along with global wine brands - will be celebrating Sauvignon Blanc for the day and participating in the Twitter conversation by using the "hashtag" #SauvBlanc .

New Zealand Winegrowers are working in collaboration with St Supery winery in Napa Valley to facilitate a live panel discussion and tasting of the different styles of Sauvignon Blanc from 1-2pm Pacific Standard Time. Panellists include US wine journalists, wine retailers and winemakers. Flying the flag for New Zealand will be Bob Campbell MW, who will be tweeting at the online tasting. The panel discussion will be broadcast online live at http://toutsuite.com.

"A huge number of wine consumers are active on social media and events such as Sauvignon Blanc Day provide great opportunities to raise awareness of New Zealand wine globally" said New Zealand Winegrowers Communications Manager Sarah Thornton. "Anyone can join the celebration by enjoying a glass of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc on May 17 and telling the world how good it is."

Sauvignon Blanc is the most popular white variety in the UK off-trade and New Zealand holds a 49% share of the UK's Sauvignon Blanc market. Two out of three bottles of Sauvignon Blanc purchased in Australia is from New Zealand and the kiwis have a 22% share of the US Sauvignon Blanc market. New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc exports are worth $950 million annually.

-ENDS-

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