Vines between the sea and the mountains make for a romantic story and the raw ingredients that go into this distinctively dry and complex Sauvignon Blanc. 

It comes from a vineyard at Kekerengu, south of Blenheim. It is the most southern vineyard in the Marlborough region. 

All of the grapes in this wine were hand picked and fermented in stainless steel to full dryness. The wine's flavours are fresh, light, herbal and succulent with a salty tang on the finish, which lingers, refreshingly, long after the last sip. 

This is a different take on the Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc theme, which will appeal to those looking for the next layer of flavour as well as fans of fruit forward Sauvignon Blanc. Here's a wine that combines both complexity with recognisable appeal. 

The story of Astrolabe

Diversity, history and family ownership are among the reasons to try the outstanding range of wines from Astrolabe, which was founded in 1996 in Marlborough by winemaker Simon Waghorn and his partner in life and wine, Jane. 

Simon has forged a reputation for being one of New Zealand's most respected producers of aromatic white wines after winning an almost embarrassingly long string of awards for his Sauvignon Blancs. He has also forged a name for adventurously diverse winemaking - he produces dry flinty whites from the most southern vineyard in Marlborough at Kekerengu on the coast about an hour's drive south of Blenheim. He is the only winemaker to produce wines from here. 

He is also one of the few in this country to make Albarino, Chenin Blanc and a consistently outstanding range of wines from the organically certified hillside sloping site that is the Wrekin Vineyard in Marlborough. 

The winery remains family owned and is now run by two generations, including Simon and Jane as well as their adult daughters. 

Fantastic value for money, dry and flinty with brief lees maturation adding depth, which balances the fresh acidity in this zesty little wine. It was fined once and lightly filtered before bottling.  

Clos Henri began 22 years ago in Marlborough when the French Bourgeois family expanded their winemaking from the heart of Sancerre in the tiny village of Chavignol to Blenheim, in 2001. Now that their vines are 22 years of age , the family feels that they are only now starting to reflect and express the taste of the land. This family retains their land and winemaking in Chavignol where they have made wine for 11 generations.

Koparepare Sauvignon Blanc represents Marlborough's most popular wine; it's fresh, it's crisp and it's a great match for seafood. Speaking of which, $1 from every bottle of Koparepare wine goes towards LegaSea, a not for profit organisation set up by the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council in 2012 to raise awareness of the marine environment and inspire public support.

The name Koparepare is Maori for gift. 

Whitehaven Wines was founded by Greg and Sue White in 1994 after they sailed into the Marlborough Sounds to shelter from a storm in the early 1990s and fell for the natural beauty of the region and the haven it provided. So they decided to take the next natural step - set up a winery back on dry land, naming it, naturally enough, Whitehaven.

Big brassy Sauvignon Blanc from Nelson with oodles of gooseberry and grassy notes. 

From Jules Taylor...

The signature dish. When Jules talks about Sauvignon Blanc, clouds part and celestial choirs sing. This is the wine Jules loves because it is so expressive of the site where it’s grown. It’s a grape that, within a row - and even within a bunch - has a mind-blowing range of full-throttle flavour, just the way Jules likes it.

This stunning South Island Sauvignon Semillon blend is a maverick New Zealand take on the classic white Bordeaux blend, offering fresh, bright and delicious aromas of ripe apple, lime, gooseberry and passionfruit. The Sauvignon (70%) brings fruit flavours and excellent acidity while the Semillon (30%) brings fruit weight, richness and age ability, due to its pronounced acidity. 

Both varieties were aged on their natural deposits of yeast lees for approximately 10 months, prior to blending. This lees contact brings creaminess and body. Once bottled, the wine was left to age for another year before release, allowing the varietal characters to integrate further.

This wine drinks deliciously well now, preferably served in a large glass, but it has a long history of great age ability too and is a good wine for the cellar.

Marlborough is best known and loved for Sauvignon Blanc but here's a next level wine from one of the most experienced winemakers in the region, Kevin Judd; the first winemaker at Cloudy Bay and then founder of his own brand, Greywacke.

This wine is incredibly consistent in style from one year to the next. Dry, full bodied with powerful intensity of flavour and a long finish. It benefits from winemaking experience, which includes lees aging time and a portion of barrel ferment to add softness and complexity.

Exceptional dry, flinty and complex Sauvignon Blanc made with grapes grown in the Awatere Valley, the cooler climate area in this terraced valley, south of Blenheim. 

This wine is made from 100% Awatere grapes, which provides it with a flinty, fresh style where blackcurrant leaf, tomato leaf and green herbal flavours are all supported by super refreshing acidity and a long finish.

This is a consistently outstanding Sauvignon Blanc, which highlights another string to Marlborough's white wine bow.

The story of Astrolabe

Diversity, history and family ownership are among the reasons to try the outstanding range of wines from Astrolabe, which was founded in 1996 in Marlborough by winemaker Simon Waghorn and his partner in life and wine, Jane. 

Simon has forged a reputation for being one of New Zealand's most respected producers of aromatic white wines after winning an almost embarrassingly long string of awards for his Sauvignon Blancs. He has also forged a name for adventurously diverse winemaking - he produces dry flinty whites from the most southern vineyard in Marlborough at Kekerengu on the coast about an hour's drive south of Blenheim. He is the only winemaker to produce wines from here. 

He is also one of the few in this country to make Albarino, Chenin Blanc and a consistently outstanding range of wines from the organically certified hillside sloping site that is the Wrekin Vineyard in Marlborough. 

The winery remains family owned and is now run by two generations, including Simon and Jane as well as their adult daughters. 

This compact and convenient little half bottle contains Astrolabe Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, one of New Zealand's great classic dry whites. 

Winemaker Simon Waghorn brings grapes together from three sub regions of Marlborough to make this dry, full bodied style of Sauvignon Blanc. Vineyards in the Wairau Valley, Awatere Valley and Kekerengu Coast (the most southern of Marlborough's vineyards) all combine to make this succulent dry wine with its ripe flavours of tropical fruit balanced by green notes. 

All grapes are machine harvested at night or in the cool parts of the day to preserve the purity and intensity of flavours. WInemaker Simon Waghorn blends to suit what he thinks is Astrolabe’s style, which reflects what he has learnt as a winemaker and drinker over the years. This means he aims to create a Sauvignon that tastes dry, expressive and elegantly balanced with flavours of passionfruit, blackcurrant leaf and gooseberry. 

The story of Astrolabe

Diversity, history and family ownership are among the reasons to try the outstanding range of wines from Astrolabe, which was founded in 1996 in Marlborough by winemaker Simon Waghorn and his partner in life and wine, Jane. 

Simon has forged a reputation for being one of New Zealand's most respected producers of aromatic white wines after winning an almost embarrassingly long string of awards for his Sauvignon Blancs. He has also forged a name for adventurously diverse winemaking - he produces dry flinty whites from the most southern vineyard in Marlborough at Kekerengu on the coast about an hour's drive south of Blenheim. He is the only winemaker to produce wines from here. 

He is also one of the few in this country to make Albarino, Chenin Blanc and a consistently outstanding range of wines from the organically certified hillside sloping site that is the Wrekin Vineyard in Marlborough. 

The winery remains family owned and is now run by two generations, including Simon and Jane as well as their adult daughters. 

A complex, dry, super succulent Sauvignon Blanc from the great North Canterbury wine region; one of the most unsung areas in New Zealand's wine industry. This superb Sauvignon Blanc shows why. Concentrated deep and rich flavours of ripe passionfruit combine with creamy textures and a long finish in a great white that is dry, expressively Kiwi in taste and sings of the South Island's potential for outstanding white wines. 

Fruit forward but dry and fresh with a light body, intense flavours and far too much drinkability for its own good. 

Organic certification

The organic story at Seresin

One of the greatest things about Seresin Estate is the organic certification. This came relatively early on for Seresin, who was dismayed by the amount used and the impacts of man made chemicals, which were routinely and frequently sprayed on vines. His early adopting philosophy of organic certification paved a positive path for the integrity of the wines as well as leading others to follow suit.

Little Darling Sauvignon Blanc is the brainchild of Chris Darling and Bart Arnst, a leading organic grape growing and organic consultant in Marlborough; the biggest wine region in the country.

This wine is light bodied and intensely fruity in taste with refreshing acidity adding zesty appeal to every sip. It is great value for money.

The first thing you will notice is the intense aroma of this wine with notes of citrus and tropical fruits. These flavours follow through on the palate, where the wild fermentation in barrel adds great weight and texture to the wine.

Complex, dry, fleshy textured Sauvignon Blanc from Huia Wines in Marlborough; 50 to 60% of the grapes were fermented in older French oak with wild yeasts giving the wine a beautiful complex nose. Certified organic.