When you’re looking to launch a Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio from New Zealand crafted to be 20 per cent lighter in calories, you know that there will be a strong demand, worldwide, especially if they retain the freshness and ripe flavors characteristic of Marlborough,
“Consumers have told us that they are looking for a wine style that is lighter in calories but doesn’t compromise on the taste and flavor complexity of the wine,” said Patrick Materman, Brancott Estate Chief Winemaker at a luncheon held last week at Two Chefs in Pinecrest, Miami.
Retaining quality and flavor was a key focus when crafting this wine and Brancott Estate Flight Song has clearly achieved this using grapes harvested earlier in the season when their sugar levels are naturally lower. The Brancott Estate Flight Song will be available in the United States nationwide starting March.
Photos taken at Two Chefs Restaurant, Pinecrest, Miami, by SFG
Brancott Estate Flight Song Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2013, New Zealand ($12 to 14.99) is pale green straw in color. This young wine with 9% alcohol content was harvested in March bottled in August. On the nose, it exhibits a distinct herbal aroma of freshly cut clover and hay, followed by notes of pink grapefruit and passion fruit on the palate with hints of flint and minerality while ripe lemon acidity and a lingering finish. It feels dryer in the mouth when cold. It is best enjoyed well-chilled as an apéritif or to pair with oysters, seafood dishes, chicken or pork. At Two Chefs, it was paired with tuna tataki. 88 Calories, 4.5g carbs. 0 fat, 0 protein per 5 fl. oz. serving
Brancott Estate Flight Song Marlborough Pinot Grigio 2013, New Zealand ($ 12 to 14.99), also containing 9% alcohol, is pale straw in color and shows floral notes with Asian pear and sweet lemon. White peach and guava create a full palate with ripe, citrus like acidity. Brancott Estate Flight Song Marlborough Pinot Grigio makes an excellent aperitif and pairs well with seafood and chicken. At Two Chefs, it was paired with grilled salmon. 87Calories, 4.5g carbs. 0 fat, 0 protein per 5 fl. oz. serving
Our meal continued with a 2013 Brancott Estate Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc (750,000 cases produced per year)
($12.99) and the superb Chosen Rose Sauvignon Blanc ($65) one of 3,500 bottles of a hand harvested, single vineyard, wild fermentation Sauvignon Blanc, that spent ten months in huge oak vats and two years in a beautifully designed bottle with a red fisherman’s knot tied around its neck. With 14% alcohol content, this is a wine that can be consumed alone and can stand up to any cuisine, grills or stews. At Two Chefs, it was served with roast chicken with wild mushrooms and a pistachio soufflé for dessert.
In 1973, Brancott Vineyard was planted with grapes, a decision that went against the popular opinion of the time that the South Island was too cold to grow grapes. In 1975, Brancott Vineyard was planted with the first Sauvignon Blanc grapes in Marlborough. The company – a trademark of Pernod Ricard New Zealand Limited − is committed to sustainable practices and is a founding member of New Zealand’s original sustainable winegrowing initiative established in 1995.
New Zealand has made an impact world-wide in the wine making style with their extraordinarily aromatic and flavorful Sauvignon Blanc, as well as with the quality of the lamb and culturally, with outstanding movies and actors, among other branches of the arts.
