Wine region | |
![]() Wairau Valley vineyards in Marlborough, New Zealand | |
Type | Geographical Indication |
---|---|
Year established | 2018 |
Country | New Zealand |
Sub-regions |
|
Size of planted vineyards | 27,808 hectares (68,720 acres) |
Grapes produced | 343,036 tonnes |
Varietals produced | |
No. of wineries | 158 |
Comments | GI established 2018, commercial vineyards first established in 1973; data from 2020[1] |
New Zealand vineyard area by region, 2020. Marlborough accounts for about two thirds of the total vineyard area in New Zealand.
Data from New Zealand Winegrowers annual report.[1]
The Marlborough wine region is by far New Zealand's largest, accounting for three quarters of the country's wine production, 70% of its vineyard area and 85% of its wine exports.[1] A Geographical Indication in the north-east of the South Island, it covers the entire Marlborough District and the Kaikōura District of the Canterbury Region,[2] but in practice the vineyards are concentrated around the Blenheim and Seddon townships. Internationally, Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is recognised as world class; wine writers such as Oz Clarke and George Taber have described it as the best in the world.[3][4]
according to Oz Clarke, a respected British critic, New Zealand sauvignon blanc is now "arguably the best in the world."
[Cloudy Bay is ...] what many people consider to be the world's best Sauvignon Blanc