Cloudy Bay's white wine secrets
19th November 2008
The Telegraph has been reporting on blending wine and interviewed Kevin Judd, a winemaker at New Zealand's Cloudy Bay, about how to really do it.
Talking about the process, Mr Judd explained that he used to put a bit of Semillon in their white wine but now they just use 100 per cent sauvignon blanc.
That doesn't meant to say that blending is not still an important part of the process, however.
Mr Judd told the paper: "Even though we're only working with one variety, blending is just as crucial and just as complicated.
"Although our wines have a certain house style, we want them also to reflect the character of each vintage."
He explained that the makers do not want to create a wine that tastes exactly the same each time.
Purity of fruit is, he says, the key to Cloudy Bay's success and he said that the flavours of thee the white wine change as the grapes ripen.
He describes the flavour from the least ripe fruit as "zingy citrus flavours" while the ripest grapes produce a pineapple and mango taste.
Cloudy Bay's white wine is produced in the Marlborough region of New Zealand and has a unique terroir with a cool South Pacific climate.