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Mission Estate Winery

Founded by Catholic missionaries in the late 1830s, Mission Estate Winery now makes 100,000 cases of wine annually, all at their home base in Hawke’s Bay (their Sauvignon Blanc fruit from Marlborough is crushed locally and the juice is brought to their winery on the outskirts of Napier). According to export manager Simon Swa, Mission Estate works with 70% purchased grapes and 30% estate fruit, but they actually sell off some of their fruit from the 70 hectares of vines they own in Hawke’s Bay as they have been moving more toward Marlborough fruit in recent years.

Assistant winemaker James Ostergren described Sauvignon Blanc as “the anti-variety: everything about it is the opposite of how we grow other grape varieties.” He noted, for example, that Sauvignon Blanc at too-low crop levels is typically low in acidity and loses its refreshment value. "We crop Sauvignon Blanc heavily and pick it early to achieve the intense green flavors that we are looking for," he explained. "With other varieties we limit the crop and hang the fruit as long as possible to move past the green flavors into a riper flavor spectrum." He also told me that he's now fermenting at higher temperatures and getting more texture in his wines.

From New Zealand’s Pellucid Wines: More Light Than Heat (May 2016) by Stephen Tanzer

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2015 Sauvignon Blanc

Release Price: $13

Color: White

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