Kim Crawford

New Zealand

About

Kim Crawford is one of New Zealand's most exciting and innovative wine producers, with a philosophy built on doing things unconventionally, taking risks, starting things, and welcoming different approaches to winemaking. The unique and varied geography of New Zealand helps to insulate the vineyards and protect the grapes from the elements, with grapes grown between the latitudes of 34º and 47º, covering a distance of 1,000 miles from the northern tip of the country to the southern coast, giving Kim Crawford the distinct advantage of a wide range of local climates and soil types to promote distinctive regional flavours and characteristics. The vineyards are located in outstanding, predominantly coastal sites where the grapes benefit from long days, clean sea breezes, and crisp nights, with New Zealand's long and dry autumn season allowing the grapes to ripen slowly, building flavour intensity whilst developing sophisticated acidity. In the end, it is this unique combination of factors—from regions and soils to temperatures and growth rates—that give Kim Crawford a perfect balance of fruit and acidity, making it more than just the perfect wine to complement foods and occasions but the perfect wine to complement one of the most stunning regions the world has ever known. The winery's commitment to serious attention to detail in the vineyards and winery, with a special focus on sustainable practices, individual vineyard block harvesting, and small lot fermentation, has resulted in wines that have been named in the "Wine Spectator Top 100" four times and featured in the "2019 Wine & Spirits Restaurant Top 10" Sauvignon Blanc category.

Regions

Marlborough

History

The winery started out in a small cottage in Auckland, New Zealand, and since its launch in 1996, the label has gained critical acclaim around the globe, with the unconventional approach and willingness to take risks establishing Kim Crawford as a benchmark producer. It was Marlborough that broke the Kim Crawford virtual spell for the new millennium when the founders rented a state-of-the-art winery and purchased vineyards in Marlborough's cool Waihopai Valley in 2000, recognising that no other region in the world can match Marlborough, the north-eastern corner of New Zealand's South Island, which seems to be the best place in the world to grow Sauvignon Blanc grapes. The region, situated at 41º latitude south on the north end of the South Island, is one of New Zealand's sunniest and driest regions where the average daily temperature in summer reaches nearly 24ºC (75ºF), resulting in a high heat summation for the growing season. During the daytime, strong and warm nor'west winds from the mountains prevail, encouraging flower fertility and ripening, whilst in the evenings the temperature shifts with clear cool nights from ocean breezes keeping acid levels high in the grapes, a diurnal shift that is one of the critical components contributing to the intensity of Marlborough wines. Seven distinct sub-regions make up Marlborough, and the differences amongst them hold the key to blending intense and complex Kim Crawford Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, with the individual vineyard block harvesting and small lot fermentation allowing the winemaking team to capture the unique characteristics of each sub-region and create a wine that showcases the very best of what Marlborough has to offer.
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