Sub-region · New Zealand
Awatere Valley
Marlborough’s southern valley — cooler, drier and windier than the Wairau, making a leaner and more herbal Sauvignon Blanc.
Sauvignon Blanc that is leaner and more herbal than Wairau — tomato leaf, capsicum, grapefruit — with searing acidity and a saline finish.
About Awatere Valley
The Awatere Valley lies south of the Wairau, at higher elevation and closer to the exposed east coast.
It is cooler, drier and windier, and ripens up to a fortnight later. The Sauvignon Blanc is correspondingly leaner and more herbal — tomato leaf, capsicum, dried herbs and a saline note in place of the Wairau’s tropical fruit.
Blending fruit from both valleys is standard practice for the larger producers, and single-valley bottlings are the way to taste the difference.
No authority delimits this name or attaches rules to it. A named division within a wine region that carries no geographical indication of its own. That does not make it less real or less useful — it means nothing legal follows from it, and you will not generally find it on a label as a controlled designation.
Grapes
Wines from here
Climate
- Temperature
- Cool
- Day–night swing
- Wide
Wind. Persistently windy — considerably more so than the Wairau — which reduces vigour and berry size.
Higher, cooler, drier and closer to the sea than the Wairau, and it ripens up to two weeks later. That is the whole basis of the stylistic difference between the two valleys.
Awatere Valley has a cool climate with maritime influence. Nights are markedly cooler than days. Wind: Persistently windy — considerably more so than the Wairau — which reduces vigour and berry size. Higher, cooler, drier and closer to the sea than the Wairau, and it ripens up to two weeks later. That is the whole basis of the stylistic difference between the two valleys.
Vintage variation
Vintage matters somewhat
A dependable climate with occasional difficult years. Most vintages are broadly similar; the exceptions are the ones worth knowing about.
- Maritime influence. Nearby water lengthens the growing season and brings cloud and rain with it. Ripening is slower and less certain, and the spread between years is wider.
- Growing-season temperature. Cool. There is little heat to spare, so a cloudy summer shows in the finished wine.
Derived from the climate above, not from anyone’s view of particular years. Why there are no vintage scores here.
These are influences on how a wine turns out, not determinants of it. Picking date, yield, vine age and every winemaking decision sit between the climate and the glass.
What to eat, and how to serve it
Derived from this region’s signature styles. Each is listed separately, because a region does not have one serving temperature.
Where to go next
Places worth trying if you like this one — neighbours, rivals, and the obvious step across.
- Wairau Valley — The larger and warmer of Marlborough’s two valleys, and the source of the pungent, tropical Sauvignon Blanc style the region is known for.
- Marlborough — The region that made New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc a global category.
Approximate centroid: -41.70°, 174.05°. WineHQ stores coordinates only where it has them, and does not estimate boundaries it has not sourced.
Sources
Sources consulted
- New Zealand Winegrowers annual report — New Zealand Winegrowers