A green skinned grape originating in the revered Bordeaux region of France, Sauvignon Blanc is one of the most loved white wine varieties in Australia. It got its name from the French words sauvage (meaning “wild”) and blanc (meaning “white”), owing to its early origins as an indigenous grape variety.
Aussie Sauv Blanc wines tend be riper and fuller, with abundant white peach and lime notes, as well as high acidity. The following is a look at the growth, production and export of Australian Sauv Blanc in 2017:
Viticulture
In the year 2017, a total of 135,133 hectares of Aussie land was planted with lush grapevines. Of this, about 5% of the total spread (6,097 hectares) was covered with intense & juicy Sauv Blanc grapes. This made up 13% of the overall white wine grapes planted in Australia.
Grape Production
2017 saw Australian winemakers and wineries crush a whopping total of 1,929,630 tonnes of various red & white grapes. Approximately 107,400 tonnes crushed belonged to the Sauvignon Blanc variety. (This makes up 6% of the overall grape harvest, and 12% of the total white grape cultivation.)
The top 5 Sauv Blanc grape crushing regions of Australia in 2017 were:
- Murray Darling – Swan Hill (30%)
- Riverland (20%)
- Riverina (15%)
- Adelaide Hills (10%)
- Margaret River (5%)
Export Data
In 2017, the Australian wine industry shipped about 811,001,000 litres of wine to various parts of the world. The export of Sauv Blanc varietals and blends amounted to 26,798,000 litres, making up 3% of the total export and 9% of the white wine export value.
The countries that emerged as the top Aussie Sauv Blanc importers in 2017 were:
- United Kingdom (42%)
- United States of America (17%)
- New Zealand (9%)
- Netherlands (7%)
- Canada (4%)
The following were the most common Sauv Blanc label claims in 2017:
- Sauvignon Blanc
- Semillon Sauvignon Blanc
- Sauvignon Blanc Semillon
- Sauvignon Blanc Colombard
- Vermentino Sauvignon Blanc Viognier Colombard
