Sauvignon Blanc

Sauvignon Blanc's exact birthplace is debated between the Loire Valley and Bordeaux, but ampelographic and genetic evidence points to origins in western France, where it has been documented since at least the 18th century, its name likely derived from "sauvage" (wild), referring to its vigorous, untamed growth habit. DNA profiling shows a close kinship with Savagnin, the ancient Jura grape, and with Chenin Blanc and Trousseau, though the direction of each link is not fully settled. In Bordeaux it became a key blending partner with Sémillon, both for dry whites and for the botrytis-affected sweet wines of Sauternes.

The grape's modern global reputation, however, was made in the Southern Hemisphere. New Zealand's Marlborough region, first planted commercially in the 1970s, produced an intensely aromatic, pungently fruity style from the 1980s onward that took international markets by storm and redefined what the variety could taste like, cementing Sauvignon Blanc as one of the world's most commercially important white grapes.