What Is Sancerre and Marlborough's Other Grape?
-french roots, kiwi fruit & more
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Is that headline a rhetorical question or do you actually expect me to answer it?
Give it a shot!
The only thing I can think of for both regions is Sauvignon Blanc…
What else is grown in Sancerre?
This is hard. Hint please.
It is wine made with black grapes.
Oh, well a Sancerre Rouge is made with Pinot Noir…
Ding ding ding! The top white and black grapes from both Sancerre in France and Marlborough in New Zealand are Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir.
I rarely think of those two grapes being linked.
I think it is fair to say that most people don’t.
Care to guess what else these two wine regions have in common? … and in fairness, this is obscure.
Ugh?
A producer! Clos Henri is a winery in New Zealand which is part of the Famille Bourgeois winery of Sancerre, Loire. Sancerre is known for its high-quality Sauvignon Blanc. The Bourgeois family has been producing wines in Sancerre for 10 generations and in New Zealand since the year 2000.
But hold on to that thought and let’s start with some wine background about New Zealand and Marlborough.
New Zealand only produces 1% of global wine – about the same as Austria, Hungary, Brazil, and China.
Surprising, as most wine drinkers know that New Zealand produces wine and have tried them at least once.
Sauvignon Blanc is by far New Zealand’s top planted white grape, followed by Chardonnay and Pinot Gris. Pinot Noir, although with significantly fewer plantings than Sauvignon Blanc, is the dominant black grape, trailed by Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc.
New Zealand has two islands: the North Island and the South Island. Wine is produced on both islands, with 10 main wine regions all within 130 km of the sea. Proximity to large bodies of water creates large diurnal ranges (difference between day and night temperatures). This daily change in temperature slows grape ripening, creating an ideal environment for growing winemaking grapes.
From the map I see that some regions are pretty darn far south.
Yes, some of the world’s most southern vines are planted in New Zealand at about 46 degrees south latitude. Most regions are considered cool, except the northern part of the North Island in Auckland and Gisborne which are considered moderate climate regions.
New Zealand vineyards benefit from the large percentage of sunshine hours, allowing for proper ripening. The sunniest region, Marlborough, is where today’s featured wine is from and where 82% of New Zealand wine (by weight) is made. This is the region that put New Zealand wine on your radar screen with its Sauvignon Blanc. It is located in the northeast corner of the South Island.
Today’s wine comes from the subregion of Wairau Valley, Marlborough’s largest main valley. The Māori aptly refer to this very sunny subregion as ‘Kei puta te Wairau’ – ‘The place with the hole in the cloud’.
The featured grape today?
Pinot Noir
Fun!
The majority of New Zealand’s Pinot Noir is grown in Marlborough, followed by Central Otago, and Wairarapa.
Pinot Noir likes cooler climates as this diva grape doesn’t like to get too warm.
Wouldn’t want to sweat.
Although originating from Burgundy France, Pinot Noir is also grown in Sancerre in the Loire Valley (also in France) where it is labelled Sancerre Rouge (always made with 100% Pinot Noir by the way).
So back to Clos Henri, the producer of the featured wine, and whose parent company fittingly also originated in the Loire Valley. Buying land in the Wairau Valley in the year 2000, they did not settle on New Zealand haphazardly. The two brothers Jean-Marie and the late Rémi Bourgeois, who together inherited the Sancerre’s Henri Bourgois estate, wanted to venture beyond France. It took them 12 years to find the perfect spot. The soils of Wairau Valley reminded them of Sancerre.
This is pretty cool! I think I will now associate these two grapes together.
How does this all fit with your personal wine journey?
I visited New Zealand’s North Island in 1999 and had my first New Zealand wine there. I never visited any wineries surprisingly, but at that time I didn’t know it was a thing. I really enjoyed the wine and started looking for them in Canada afterwards.
As for Sancerre, I did a rather quick stopover in May 2023. I wrote my last set of exams (4 exams over 2 days) for my WSET level 4 (diploma) in Austria. Afterwards, we drove from Austria visiting Tuscany, Italy, then Languedoc-Roussillon, France. On the last leg of our adventure, we made a stop in Sancerre before driving on to the Paris airport to fly home.
I only visited the Famille Bourgeois winery while in Sancerre. I loved everything about Sancerre – the beauty, the wines, the people, and of course the food. But the highlight was driving past famous vineyards - I was awestruck!!!
Who would you recommend the featured wine to?
This wine is definitely for Pinot Noir lovers. With the price of the world’s Pinot Noir continuing to rise, this one is very reasonably priced for its quality! This wine shows a nice blend of both New-World and Old-World style – showing off its land combined with its winemaker’s roots. It is a great pairing with salmon – particularly cedar plank salmon – yet light enough to be enjoyed without food.
I just scrolled down to see the bottle photo! Did you see the bee on the label? So fitting considering last week’s article.
A total coincidence, I swear! But do check out the featured wine below!
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Clos Henri Estate Pinot Noir 2022 from Marlborough, Wairau Valley, New Zealand
Style: Dry Old World Medium Body Red Wine
Varieties: 100% Pinot Noir
This fresh and vibrant wine has notes of violet, strawberry, red cherry, blueberry, cedar, graphite match strike, flint, earth, and the aroma of imminent rain. The wine is intense in flavours and aromas, and has moderate, soft tannins and a long finish.
Best pairings: For me the classic pairing is Cedar Plank Salmon, otherwise consider a Pork tenderloin (preferably wrapped in bacon), French lentil stew, Mushroom risotto, Cheese: Brie & Gruyère
Serving Temperature: 13-15 degrees Celsius
Serving Tips: Delicious right out of the bottle (no fuss no muss!)
Price: ~$35 Cdn
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SOURCES:
Discover our regions - New Zealand wine (no date). https://www.nzwine.com/en/regions/.
Domaine Henri Bourgeois (2022). https://famillebourgeois-sancerre.com/en/home-domaine-famille-bourgeois/.
Famille bourgeois (no date). https://closhenri.com/pages/the-bourgeois-family.
Harding, J. and Robinson, J. (2023) The oxford companion to wine. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
MacNeil, K. (2022) The wine bible. New York, NY: Workman Publishing.
New Zealand Wine Textbook (no date). https://www.nzwine.com/en/trade/learning/textbook/.
Harding, J. and Robinson, J. (2023) The oxford companion to wine. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
MacNeil, K. (2022) The wine bible. New York, NY: Workman Publishing.
Sauvignon- plantgrape (no date). https://www.plantgrape.fr/en/varieties/fruit-varieties/251.
Statista (2025) Leading countries in wine production worldwide 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/240638/wine-production-in-selected-countries-and-regions/?utm_source=chatgpt.com.
Statistics | OIV (no date). https://www.oiv.int/index.php/what-we-do/statistics?utm_source=chatgpt.com.
Wine & Spirit Education Trust (2021) D3: Wines of the World - An accompaniment to the WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines. Version 1.2. London: Wine & Spirit Education Trust.
How very cool that NZ gets a feature. Makes me a little homesick and reminds me of the quality of the wine we produce even if it is 1% of the worlds production.
You will need to revisit with us one day when we are back. Our appreciation of wine since 1999 is exponential :)