Annie Fume Blanc Virtual Tasting at Chrry Tree Hill [video]

Fume Blanc 'Annie'
2018 Fumé Blanc
Southern Highlands, NSW

Fermented in French oak for 13 months, this Fume is full mouth feel yet has delicate fruit.




Buy this wine

This Mother's Day, step away from the macaroni and get your mum something she really wants. We have some great deals this week including a Girls Night In 6-Pack which we can deliver in time for mum to enjoy on her special day.

Includes the Annie Fume Blanc

Rosabrook 2017 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon - Margaret River

#tastingnotes

WINEMAKER'S NOTE: This is the classic blend from Margaret River - pale green with aromas of succulent Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. The palate is flinty and dry, with an explosive first impact of sweet racy fruit, creamy middle palate with a fine and lengthy finish.

VINTAGE: After a cold and wet start to spring, warmer weather through December and January provided good ripening conditions leading into vintage. The 2017 vintage was significantly later in the season than the past few years due to a fairly mild summer. Overall it was a good vintage – producing grape varietals with clean, crisp and pure fruit flavours.

VINEYARDS: Dispersed across the Margaret River region.

VINIFICATION: Harvested in early morning, crushed grapes were juice-extracted to a bright condition and cold fermented in stainless steel, then early bottled to retain varietal character.

VARIETAL/S: Sauvignon Blanc Semillon

ALCOHOL: 12.5%
RESIDUAL SUGAR: Dry
WINEMAKER: Brian Fletcher
CELLARING: Drink now

Logan Wines 2016 Sauvignon Blanc- NSW Central Ranges

THIS one makes for a
delightful match with pork
four-quarter chops and apple sauce.

A SAUVIGNON BLANC SO TRUE TO VARIETY

David Ellis

THE growing season for vintage 2016 in NSW's Central Ranges that local maker Logan Wines summed up as "unpredictably kind," gave the company both the biggest harvest in its 20 year history, and it's earliest.

After starting, in the words of owner and winemaker, Peter Logan "scarily hot and dry," the 2016 season soon gave way to much needed rain and mild temperatures, which all proved that even cold climate wine can benefit from a good dose of vitamin D and a wash-down with a healthy amount of water.

"As a result we squeezed in our biggest harvest ever in the shortest number of days," says Peter. "A few records were broken, and nearly a few backs in the process, but we're already reaping the rewards."

And he's particularly happy with the season's 2016 Sauvignon Blanc, a variety that loves sunshine, but with too much heat can ripen without developing flavour, and also lose the all-important acid that it needs. "But this one's proved absolutely true to variety, with complexity and round but fresh drinkability," Peter says.

With prominent grapefruit and guava flavours on a core of lime and minerality, it's a delightful match with pork four-quarter chops and apple sauce; well-priced at $23.



27 March 2017

2016 Shaw Winemakers Selection Semillon Sauvignon Blanc - Canberra District

ONE TO NOTE:  GRAEME SHAW confesses to being a huge fan of his own vineyard's Semillon, and with almost 5ha growing at Murrumbateman in the Canberra district he's in fact got more of it than the rest of the district put together.

And after indulging the rewards of his 2015 Semillon that he says came out of his best vintage ever, he now says his 2016 has equalled that best-ever 2015. And to prove it he's released a 2016 Shaw Winemakers Selection Semillon Sauvignon Blanc, that with some 85% Semillon is basically all about that, and just how beautifully it has blended with the acidity and lighter body of the Sauvignon Blanc.

At $18 it's a great match with seafood, pork, creamy pasta dishes, chicken or turkey.

10 Apr 17

[] AT $18 a great match with seafood, pork, creamy pasta dishes, chicken or turkey.

Shottesbrooke Estate Vineyards 2016 Sauvignon Blanc - Adelaide Hills

YOU'LL find this Sauvignon Blanc an ideal
match with lighter Spring-time fish dishes.

A WONDERFULLY crisp and refreshing 2016 Sauvignon Blanc from small family owned Shottesbrooke Vineyards at McLaren Flat in South Australia, makes for a great match with lighter fish dishes now that Spring is upon us.

With gooseberry and tropical fruit flavours and a finishing citrus touch, this lovely drop from the Adelaide Hills should find itself in strong demand right through Spring and Summer when seafoods and salads come to the fore. And a nice $20 price tag makes it all the more enticing.

28.11.16

Riversdale Estate 2015 Roaring 40s Sauvignon Blanc - Tasmania

LOADS of tropical fruit flavours in this rewarding
Sauvignon Blanc out of cool climate Tasmania.

ONE TO NOTE: ALTHOUGH the first vines were planted only in the 1980s, Sauvignon Blanc has now become Tasmania's third most widely planted wine grape after Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

And a nice example of the quality that it's risen to is the 2015 Roaring 40s Sauvignon Blanc of Riversdale Estate in the Coal River Valley just 20km out of Hobart. For here's a wine that reflects a long growing season in the cool maritime climate, and the resultant tropical fruit flavours in small-bunch harvested fruit.

At $24.50 this one's a great match with shellfish, grilled snapper or smoked salmon; check www.riversdaleestate.com.au to order online.




7.11.16

Rymill 2016 The Yearlings Sauvignon Blanc - Coonawarra

OVER-DELIVERING
in flavour and value
at just $15.

YEARLING WITH A CENTURY-PLUS HERITAGE

David Ellis

WHEN Peter Rymill, fourth generation descendant of Scottish-born founder of Coonawarra wine region John Riddoch, decided that he wanted to build his own winery to make wine from the grapes he was already growing on his own Coonawarra vineyard, he set himself a strange goal.

Also undertaking a professional course in winemaking, he said he would not build that winery until he had proven his skills by winning a gold medal at a wine show – and then went onto do more than that by taking out a trophy at the 1987 Australian Small Winemakers Show. And yes, then building his Rymill Coonawarra Winery.

Today Peter has retired and it is his son John who is a great, great grandson of old John Riddoch who began it all at Coonawarra in 1890, and is managing director of Rymill Coonawarra. And amongst the many labels John oversees is The Yearlings, a range that really does seriously over-deliver in flavour and value at just $15.

Try the recently-released 2016 The Yearlings Sauvignon Blanc whose every glass is a wonderful burst of crispy lime and tropical fruit flavours, accompanied by abounding fruity aromas. With our warmer months coming-up, it will make for a great match outdoors with seafood salads, grilled fish fillets or barbecued herbed chicken.


for week beginning 12 September

Blossom Hill’s 2015 Sauvignon Blanc - South Eastern Australia

SAUVIGNON Blanc is not just a summer-time delight,
enjoy with a winter-warmer Thai green curry
or a range of Greek and Mexican fare.

ONE TO NOTE:  WE'VE long had a fondness for Sauvignon Blanc, and while most think of it as a purely summer-drinking wine, there are plenty of reasons to put it on the table with winter-time meals too.

Or simply enjoy it on its own.

A full-of-flavour Sauv Blanc that's currently on the shelves is Blossom Hill's 2015 made from fruit sourced from across South Eastern Australia. All about crisp and zesty fresh citrus flavours, this one's nicely accompanied by tropical and passionfruit aromas that make for a rewarding drop at just $13 a bottle.

An ideal match is with Thai green curry, while you'll also find it pairs well with Greek and Mexican dishes that have plenty of tomatoes, green onions, olives and feta.

And even simply with fish and chips.

20 Jun 16

Shaw's 2015 Estate Winemakers Selection Semillon Sauvignon Blanc - Canberra District

GREAT value result of little tricks that
keep down time and materials costs.

ONE TO NOTE: SHAW VINEYARD Estate's owner/winemaker Graeme Shaw reckons he's able to hold the price of his excellent Winemakers Selection range to a very reasonable $16 through what he calls "little tricks that keep down time and materials costs."

Whatever those tricks are, they certainly don't impact on the quality of this range, with a 2015 Estate Winemakers Selection Semillon Sauvignon Blanc a ripper white to enjoy with a whole range of seafoods or lighter-meat based dishes. Predominantly Semillon with just 10% Sauvignon Blanc, it's interesting that Graeme's Murrumbateman vineyards carry more Semillon than the rest of the whole of this area near Canberra combined.

One to truly enjoy with this easy $16 price-tag.

Apple Tree Flat 2015 Semillon Sauvignon Blanc - Central Ranges

$13 bargain white with
any-time-of-the-year seafoods.

ONE TO NOTE:  WAS a time just a few years ago when Semillon Sauvignon Blanc was looked upon in Australia as a "summer wine," one to be enjoyed only during the warmer months of the year with seafoods.

No longer. Today it's as popular in the cooler months as the warmer ones, a perfect match with fish and chips, freshly shucked oysters or fresh peeled prawns whatever the outside temperature. And the more-so when you can get wonderful examples like Apple Tree Flat's 2015 Semillon Sauvignon Blanc for a bargain $13.

Made from 58% Semillon from Mudgee and 42% Sauvignon Blanc from Orange (both in the NSW Central Ranges,) this one has marvellous light tropical flavours and a crisp long-lasting finish. Perfect with that seafood or other lighter-style dishes.

11 Apr 16

Cape Jaffa Wines White Blend - Limestone Coast

OFFBEAT blend more than more-ish with a thin crust pizza
with prosciutto, rocket and preserved green figs.

CAPE JAFFA'S SUCCESS IS ONLY NATURAL

David Ellis

IT was a sense of adventure that led Derek and Anna Hooper to the wild and windswept shores of Cape Jaffa on South Australia's Limestone Coast back in 1993, and for them to trail-blaze this distinctive area even further by creating the Coast's ultimately first fully-certified biodynamic vineyards to feed their Cape Jaffa Winery.

Located some 300km south of Adelaide, the Hooper's 25ha vineyard uses no artificial fertilisers, herbicides, pesticides or fungicides, but instead relies on such natural alternatives as cow manure-based composts, milk whey, and other natural tonics for healthy soil life… coupled with vineyard operations timed to coincide with specific phases of the moon to further increase effects.

Derek works the vineyard and Anna makes the wines, both drawing on past experiences working in world-renowned wineries across Burgundy, Bordeaux and the Rhone Valley, and at Cape Jaffa combining Old and New World techniques. Amongst their wines is one called Anna's Blend that's a somewhat offbeat mix of 24% Semillon for backbone and structure, 30% Sauvignon Blanc to increase texture and complexity, and 46% Gewurztraminer to enhance and preserve floral aromatics.

Appearing a little sweet at first sip, this one from the 2015 vintage in fact pans out into a wine with delightful citrus and savoury flavours… ideal, Anna suggests, with a thin crust pizza with prosciutto, rocket and preserved green figs. $25 at cellar door, or join their club and save $6 a bottle: www.capejaffawines.com.au

Lindeman's 2014 Early Harvest Semillon Sauvignon Blanc - a light alternative

A SEMILLON Sauvignon Blanc
that's 25% lighter in alcohol
and calories, yet full-flavoured to match
with seafood or chicken salads.

ONE TO NOTE:  IF you like to watch the alcohol content of the wine you are drinking, and that of course means the calories as well, Lindeman's have a 2014 Early Harvest Semillon Sauvignon Blanc that's 25 per cent lighter than regular wines – but without any compromise in flavour enjoyment.

By using select parcels of fruit from early ripening regions in south-eastern Australia, it meant lower sugar levels in that fruit – and thus lower alcohol in the resultant wine.

But with still nicely forward tropical fruit flavours and herbaceousness, this is a nice fresh and crisp drop to enjoy with seafoods or chicken salads – and value at just $16.

 for week beginning 28 September 2015

ONE TO NOTE: Ninth Island Sauvignon Blanc - Tasmania

JUST the drop with summer salads, barbecued white meats,

Thai fish cakes or a mushroom risotto

ONE TO NOTE: DOWN in northern Tasmania the 2015 vintage proved a somewhat bumpy one for winemakers, with winter and spring of 2014 warmer than usual, the first month of summer uncharacteristically windy and wet, and during the April 2015 harvest, rainfall of around just half the usual average at 60mm.

But despite all this, Chief Winemaker at Pipers Brook Vineyard, Rene Bezemer has crafted a wonderfully more-ish 2015 Ninth Island label Sauvignon Blanc that's all about varietal tropical fruit freshness and forward lime and apple flavours, the lot underpinned with nice natural acidity.

At $22.50 this Ninth Island Sauvignon Blanc, named after a tiny, windswept dot in Bass Strait 11km off Pipers Brook Vineyard, makes an ideal match with summer salads or barbecued white meats, or as maker Rene Bezemer suggests, with Thai fish cakes or a mushroom risotto.

Forester Estate 2014 Sauvignon Blanc - Margaret River

FOR Sauvignon Blanc buffs to enjoy with a
goat's cheese and asparagus salad.

FORESTER LABEL A TRIBUTE TO HISTORY

David Ellis

IT was a fledgling forestry industry way back in the 1850s that opened up the rugged Leeuwin-Naturaliste ridge in Western Australia's northern Margaret River area.

And  today it's here you'll find the appropriately named and family-owned Forester Estate winery that's set delightfully amid majestic Eucalypts that luckily survived those now long-gone other foresters.

And in fact there's still an historic saw pit on the winery estate from the pioneering timber-getting days, something to perhaps ponder over next time you open a Forester Estate wine – one, we'd suggest, like the exceptional 2014 Sauvignon Blanc that's a real must for those into their Sauv Blancs.

2014 was a classic year in Margaret River for white grapes, and it's reflected in this wine that's both full and light on the palate, coupled with a beautifully creamy-mineral texture. And also subtly reflected on the palate, are the wine's aromas of nettles, green capsicum, lychee, passionfruit and cedar oak.

All add up to make a great drop at $27 to enjoy with a Springtime goat's cheese and asparagus salad.

Lindeman’s Bin 95 Sauvignon Blanc - Forester’s 2012 Shiraz

IDEAL with most seafood, grilled
pork or baked chicken, and just $10.

A REWARDING SAUVIGNON BLANC JUST $10

David Ellis

IF you're thinking of a good Sauvignon Blanc one night with seafood or maybe grilled chicken or pork, and you enjoy a glass or three most nights but don't want to pay in the upper 'teens dollar-wise, we've a rewarding drop today that will cost you just $10.

It's a 2014 Lindeman's Bin 95 Sauvignon Blanc, and despite the price, when poured into the glass you'll find it has lovely aromas of passionfruit, grapefruit, gooseberry and guava, and all of which follow through in lively fashion in the mouth.

Made from fruit from Lindeman's extensive holdings across South Eastern Australia, this is one of a range of easy-priced wines the company makes for those who enjoy their nightly one glass, two glasses or maybe more.

Ideal with most seafood – we matched it just recently with crab cakes – it's also a great partner with grilled pork chops or baked chicken. Beaut bang-for-your-buck value at $10.

MATCH this Margaret River Shiraz with
veal scaloppini or an Aussie BBQ

ONE TO NOTE: FORESTER Estate in WA's Margaret River has a more-than-rewarding 2012 Shiraz that's interesting in that it includes a nine percent Alicante Bouschet component – a quite rare variety grown by possibly no more than a half-dozen or so vignerons in all of Australia.

Created in the mid to late 1800s in southern France by crossing Petit Bouschet with Grenache, it's helped give Forester's 2012 Shiraz both some lovely flavours and an attractive buy-me-now, drink-me-now style. You'll find on the palate it's got pepper notes blending in nicely with characteristic Shiraz plum, together with milk chocolate, aniseed and toasty oak.

All these combine to make for a drop the Forester Estate winemaking team tell us they'd match with veal scaloppini with sage, or a traditional Aussie BBQ. Certainly well worth the $24 price tag with these suggestions.

for week beginning 06 July 2015

Lindemans Early Harvest Sauvignon Blanc - Bobbie Burns Shiraz

LIGHTER alcohol, fewer calories – and great
with grilled Moroccan spiced chicken.

LIGHTER ALCOHOL AND FEWER CALORIES

David Ellis

LINDEMANS now have no fewer than eleven red, white, sweet and sparkling wines under their Early Harvest label, a range that delivers wines 25% lighter in alcohol - and that of course equates to 25% fewer calories as well – without compromising on flavour or enjoyment.

So it means not only can you cut down on alcohol and calorie intake, you can enjoy that extra glass with lunch or dinner without feeling guilty, or an extra bottle with family or friends on a week when you've maybe decided to limit just how many nights you'll uncap one at dinner-time.

The Early Harvest 2014 Semillon Sauvignon Blanc is a particularly nice crisp and refreshing drop sourced from vineyards across a reach of South Eastern Australia, and brings together fresh fruit flavours from the Sauvignon Blanc component, coupled with signature citrus from the Semillon.

Well priced at $16 it makes for a good choice on the table with grilled Moroccan spiced chicken and salad.

FROM one of the finest vintages ever,
enjoy with steak or grilled lamb loin chops

ONE TO NOTE: ALTHOUGH Campbells of Rutherglen have been making their Bobbie Burns Shiraz since 1969, Winemaker Colin Campbell says he's confident the 2013 that they've just-released evolved from one of their finest vintages ever.

"It was a wonderful vintage that's sure to be very special in time," Colin says. "Plentiful Spring rain prepared the vineyard well, and mild to warm conditions over Summer gave the fruit time to ripen evenly, and to maintain good acidity for harvest."

While rewarding drinking now with plum and mulberry fruit flavours, fine tannins and suggestions of liquorice and cacao, it's a wine to tuck away to age contentedly for even greater enjoyment around a decade down the track.

A great steak wine, at $22 match it nicely too with grilled lamb loin chops or a slow-roasted lamb leg.

And for an interesting conversation piece over your dinner choice, the core fruit for this wine came from 50 year old vines on the Bobbie Burns Vineyard – that was the site of the first Campbells' plantings 145 years ago in 1870. As well, playing a role in the making of this 44th vintage wine was Jules Campbell who is Colin's daughter, and a fifth generation Campbell Winemaker.

  for week beginning 22 June 2015

St Marys Carillon - Voyager Estate Sauvignon Blanc Semillon

UNSUAL blend to enjoy with red meats
or a hearty Winter's casserole.

ONE WELL WORTH RINGING THE BELLS OVER

David Ellis

THERE are a couple of interesting things about the Mulligan family and their St Mary's Vineyard 15km to the west of Penola in South Australia.

ONE is that they're on land that's made up of Terra Rossa soil over limestone just like their neighbouring Coonawarra, yet they're defined officially as within the Limestone Coast, and the other is their unusual – and rewarding – Carillon label.

The first there's little we can say much about, beyond that to most their wines appear more Coonawarra than Limestone Coast, but the latter we heartily suggest that you can do something about, and that is to give a try to this Carillon that's unusually made up of Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Cabernet France and Merlot.

In 1985 Barry and Glenys Mulligan planted their first grapes, reaping the pioneering rewards of these in 1990. They made their first Carillon blend in 1999, giving it the name after the dictionary definition of carillon as "a collection of bells (in their case 'Belles'?) that work in harmony to produce something special..."

BOUNCY-fresh tropical and citrus fruit flavours
go so well with seafoods or veal chops.

The newest-release 2013 St Mary's Carillon is an interesting wine offering up suggestions of tobacco, cedar, plum and raisin flavours that make for a good match with red meats, or a hearty Winter's casserole. It's $40 a bottle in 12-bottle cartons from the winery, including delivery Australia-wide. Details www.stmaryswines.com

ONE TO NOTE:  WINE buffs who enjoy their seafood know how rewarding can be white fish fillets pan-fried and shared with a good Sauvignon Blanc Semillon.

And one of the latter worth trying is a 2014 from Voyager Estate in WA's Margaret River, because here's a Sauvignon Blanc Semillon that's all about bouncy-fresh tropical and citrus fruit flavours coupled with a lovely natural acidity.

At $24 you'll find it good value for the price, and while excellent with those white fish fillets, or other seafoods including shellfish, if you lean more towards meat dishes team it up with veal chops grilled and sprinkled with rosemary.

Richland Sauvignon Blanc - Katnook Founders Block Cabernet Sauvignon

GO STIR FRIED OVER A GREAT WHITE

David Ellis

FRUITY and full-bodied, here's a great match
with cold seafood platters, or Asian
stir fries if you prefer something hot.

SAUVIGNON Blanc is today one of the world's most-widely planted white wine grape varieties, with over 121,000ha (300,000 acres) estimated to be under cultivation around the globe.

Originating in the Bordeaux region of France, it still flourishes there as well as now-other parts of that country, plus Italy, Spain, Romania and Moldova, and further afield Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Chile and South Africa.

A rewarding local example is Calabria Family Wines' Richland Sauvignon Blanc from the NSW Riverina, the 2014 a lovely fruity and full-bodied drop in which maker Bill Calabria has coaxed to the forefront its wonderful varietal tropical fruit flavours of passionfruit, lime and mango.

At just $12 it's a great white on warmer days to simply enjoy on its own, makes a perfect match with seafood platters that include prawns, crabs and lobsters, or as Bill Calabria himself enjoys, with Asian stir fries featuring lemon grass, coriander, tomato, onions and a touch of garlic.

WHAT better than the minty and blackcurrant
flavours of this one with a roast lamb dinner?

ONE TO NOTE:  KATNOOK in South Australia's Coonawarra launched their Founder's Block range in 2005, and in the decade since it's become their biggest selling wine – a just-released 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon a further great example of just why.

For here's a medium-bodied wine that's got wonderfully classic Cabernet Sauvignon mint and blackcurrant to the fore, and with accompanying fine tannins… and interestingly came from a vintage that got off to an early start after good Winter rainfalls in 2012 led into a warm and dry Spring, with these conditions continuing right through the growing season into that early vintage in 2013.

Priced at $20, with those minty and blackcurrant flavours it's a great one to enjoy with roast lamb, or even something with a suggestion of spiciness to it.

WC04May15

Tim Adams The Fergus - Shottesbrooke Sauvignon Blanc

THE FERGUS A TALE OF PROUD HISTORY

David Ellis

CORNER-STONE blend to
enjoy with Confit of Duck.

ITS close to twenty years – nineteen in fact – since Tim Adams and wife Pam Goldsack made their first Tim Adams Fergus, a Grenache-based blend they named after neighbour Fergus Mahon who sold them some Grenache back in 1993 during a desperate shortage in the Clare Valley of Shiraz and Cabernet fruit.
Since that pioneering drop of 85% Grenache and 15% Cabernet in those desperate times, The Fergus has comprised Grenache with various other reds, the latest being the 2012 that's 35% Grenache from the Mahon's Fergus Vineyard, 35% Tempranillo from Tim's Ladera Vineyard, and 30% from his Sheoak Vineyard at Watervale.

The result's a wonderfully mouth-filling wine with Grenache spiciness to the fore, nice plum and red berry flavours, gentle tannins and beautiful floral aromas, all combining to achieve Tim's aim of a corner-stone drop reflecting commitment to quality and traditional Clare Valley wine styles.

Remarkably it's just $24, and if you can resist the temptation to get into it now (with, we'd suggest, Confit of Duck) it'll reward beautifully over the next decade or more.

A WINNER with seafood, or chilled
on its own as guests arrive.

ONE TO NOTE: ABOUNDING tropical fruit flavours and a wonderfully crisp acidity are highlights of an Estate Series 2014 Sauvignon Blanc from boutique Shottesbrooke Vineyards in the Adelaide Hills.

Winemaker Hamish Maguire also used fruit from McLaren Vale in this lip-smacker drop that's got everything in it from those tropical fruits to a grassiness, suggestions of lemon citrus and a refreshing mouth-feel.

Sauvignon Blanc and seafood go hand-in-hand so make your choice from the seafood counter as to what to enjoy it with best, or equally offer it chilled on its own as guests arrive for that seafood lunch or dinner.

Nicely priced at $20.

for week beginning 06 April 2015

Forester Cabernet Sauvignon - Matua Sauvignon Blanc

WHILE wonderfully rewarding now, this one will only
get better year on year through to around  2024.

GREAT ONE FOR THAT ROAST LAMB DINNER

David Ellis

IF you've a special-occasion dinner coming up and roast lamb with rosemary, baked vegies and a mint-infused gravy's on the menu, for a wine to go with it don't look past Forester Estate's 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon from WA's Margaret River.

From a great growing season the company says was "extremely kind" with good winter rain leading to a slightly warmer than normal summer, this is an interesting drop  blending 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, 3% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot.

And it's all resulted in rewarding cedary oak, cassis, tobacco and currants on the palate, combined with red berry, violets and delicate floral characters, and with a firm and long finish.

While certainly a great companion now with that roast lamb and trimmings, give it another year in-bottle and it'll only get better year-on-year through to around 2024. It's a recommended $38.

A QUARTER lighter in alcohol and calories,
and perfect with all kinds of seafoods.

ONE TO NOTE: FOR those who like to watch their alcohol intake, and the calories, New Zealand's Matua has released a lighter than normal Sauvignon Blanc from the famed Marlborough region that makes for a great match with all kinds of seafoods.

With nine per cent alcohol that makes it 25% less below the usual, this one still retains lovely crisp tropical passionfruit and gooseberry flavours, and interestingly is from the company that planted New Zealand's first Sauvignon Blanc back in 1969, and certainly shaking-up the industry in doing so.

In fact today more Sauvignon Blanc – both locally grown and huge amounts from New Zealand – is now sold in Australia than any other white variety, having knocked Chardonnay off its perch back in 2012.

Pay $22 for this current 2013 Matua Lighter Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.

 for week beginning 30 March 2015