Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is one of the wine world’s great calling cards. In terms of the relationship between a variety and its region, it rivals Malbec to Mendoza or Tempranillo to Rioja.
Of the 42,500ha of vineyards in New Zealand last year, 28,700ha were Sauvignon Blanc, which is a little over two-thirds. As well as being the most commonly planted variety, it’s also the one growing at the fastest pace – it’s perhaps unsurprising that the 34% growth in Sauvignon Blanc over the last decade is the most for the region, given its explosion in global popularity. Still, the 3.5% year-on-year growth from 2024 to 2025 is also more than any other individual variety.
Its dominance is even more explicit in the export market. In 2025, nine out of every 10 bottles shipped out of New Zealand were Sauvignon Blanc – more than 250 million litres. When it comes to the export market, wine from New Zealand is Sauvignon Blanc.
“The emergence of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc has been one of the defining success stories of the global wine industry in recent years and one that has put New Zealand on the map,” says Chris Stroud, European market manager for New Zealand Winegrowers.
“Sauvignon Blanc is our flagship export and is loved by consumers the world over, and we are proud of the impact it has made in such a short period of time.”
Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc has had a rapid rise, especially in wine terms. While there were vintages from the region in the 1970s, it wasn’t until the first Cloudy Bay release in 1985 that the style emerged on to the scene. But really, it was the 2000s when the style found mainstream success.
“Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc has earned its place as a global icon, and we are lucky to have a variety represent New Zealand wine so well internationally,” says Natalie Christensen, chief winemaker at Seaview Estate Wines, which is part of Yealands Wine Group.
“Its success is certainly a positive for us as a Sauvignon Blanc producer, and quite often our Sauvignons will get our foot in the door with customers, allowing us to introduce our other varieties.”
But being so indebted to a single variety does create a vulnerability for a region. Drinking trends change, vast monocultures become susceptible to disease, and a poor vintage can become a catastrophe. In 2021, spring frosts and drought resulted in a 30% decline in Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc yields. The result was a global shortage, New Zealand’s first decline in exports in 26 years and widespread delistings as prices soared.
And New Zealand does grow more than 40 grape varieties according to New Zealand Winegrowers, it’s just not particularly substantial in terms of volume. Of the 10% of non-Sauvignon Blanc wines that the county exports, a combined 6% are Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir, about 1% is Chardonnay, with various red and white varieties combining for the remainder.
“Pinot Noir is equally important to New Zealand [as Sauvignon Blanc] and it is grown throughout the country,” says Stroud. “The huge diversity in climates and soils enables a wide range of styles from these main Pinot Noir-producing regions for consumers to explore.
“New Zealand produces just 1% of the world’s wine yet offers an impressive range of high-quality varieties and styles. While Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir remain the most well-known wines from New Zealand, consumers are continuing to explore the diverse range of wine varieties we produce with other exciting varieties and styles such as Albariño, Viognier, Chenin Blanc, Grüner Veltliner, Gamay, among others.
Digging for gems
The reality of New Zealand winemaking in 2026 goes far deeper than the few styles that its reputation has been built on. But with such a powerful brand spearheading its export market, finding its less-heralded gems does require a bit of digging.
“The best Kiwi Chardonnays very much compete with the very best the world has to offer,” says wine writer Joe Wadsack.
“If I list off the top of my head, say, my favourite seven Chards, they’d all come from different regions, are distinctly different from each other, and reflect their regions with exceptional focus. I think that Kiwi Chardonnay demonstrates the concept of terroir with more alacrity and precision than any other variety and region, even Burgundy.
“And although it constitutes less than 1% of total production, Hawke’s Bay and Marlborough Syrahs compete at the top level with Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie. Famously very precise, aromatic, pure and full of black pepper spice and stony inky fruit. Simply gorgeous stuff, I’m surprised that volumes haven’t grown significantly.”
There’s also a growing buzz around Albariño, which is grown primarily in the Gisborne region. But it’s still very much early days, Albariño is grown in such small quantities in the region that before 2023 it was lumped into the amorphous ‘other varieties’ category by NZ Wine. In 2025, there were 62ha of Albariño vines, about 85 football pitches or, if you like, 0.2% of the coverage of Sauvignon Blanc.
“We’ve had four vintages of our Yealands Single Vineyard Albariño so far, and it’s been exciting to see it do so well in wine shows,” says Christensen, who, before joining the Yealands team in 2015, was winemaker at La Caña in Rias Baixas, where she would have plenty of experience working with Albariño.
“One of the key differences is in the set-up of the vineyard – most sites in Rias Baixas use the pergola system, whereas in New Zealand we mostly use vertical shoot positioning.
“I like to use similar winemaking techniques to those I learned in Spain, and I’m fortunate that Yealands has a high-spec winery that allows us to make Albariño using a range of different fermentation vessels.
“Albariño is growing in popularity globally, and I think Sauvignon Blanc helped pave the way for this style of fresh, bright wines with crisp acidity.”
While there’s plenty of scope for the diversification of the New Zealand export portfolio, and vintages like 2021 should make a more concerted push for variety the smart money play, the Sauvignon Blanc-shaped whale in the paddling pool does give the region an interesting dilemma – to what extent should you compete with your own best performer, and how do you follow an icon?
