Question

New Zealand only produces 1% of the world’s wine in volume but is the 7th largest exported in value and
10th in volume.

Using the headings below, explain how Sauvignon Blanc wines from New Zealand have achieved success
in the export market:

Product
Price
People
Place
Promotion

The Product heading carries 40% of the weighting; the Price, People, Place and Promotion headings carry
60% weighting.

Response
Product
New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is one of the most distinctive profiles with dry pronounced intensity nose &
palate, high acidity, and mostly an emphasis on primary fruit (gooseberry, acacia, bell pepper) w/ little to no
oak, malolactic fermentation, or lees contact influence; made for early consumption.

This uniqueness comes from the gooseberry & bell pepper character which seems absent from other
countries’ Sauvignon Blancs for unknown reasons and it is a profile well received in much of the world, so
demand for NZ wine remains consistently high.

This is aided by the fact that these thiols are emphasised by machine harvesting, which is easily achieved
in Marlborough’s flat/gentle topography, further boosting the unique selling point of NZ Sauvignon Blanc.

This style of Sauvignon Blanc is not suited to extensive oak treatment and NZ’s climate is overall quite
cool, but w/ ample UV; this leads to fruit-forward wines (often desirable for mass appeal) that also conform
to the current global trend for lower alcohol, higher acidity, and gentler oak influence.

It is further useful that 98% of producers are certified sustainable or organic, so NZ is well suited (across
all wines) to satisfy growing concerns for sustainability among consumers (especially younger generation).

Many brands which now dominate (e.g. Cloudy Bay) started at a time when land was relatively cheap and
have only expanded their holdings, which has allowed them to achieve increasingly consistent style across
vintages by inter-plot blending, so building a strong brand image long-term.

NZ also has a strong dairy background whose concepts of hygiene and temperature control transfer
directly into wine — especially aromatic, fruit-forward styles like Sauv. Blanc — and the producers had this
technology ready at a time when few other regions did (in the 1980s) — only Germany & northeast Italy
had started earlier w/ temperature controlled fermentation for clean, fruity wines, so NZ Sauv. Blanc
entered the market at a time with very few competitors.
Price
The majority of Sauv. Blanc is made in Marlborough where large landholdings (land was quite cheap until a
decade ago) and flat topography allowing extensive mechanisation & automation allow for high economies
of scale, so good–v. good quality may be achieved at inexpensive–medium prices — for example, Cloudy
Bay SauvignoN Blanc is consistently around HKD 200/btl. Conveniently, the means of mechanisation
— mechanical harvesting — is exactly what emphasises NZ Sauv. Blanc’s distinctive & demanded
gooseberry/bell pepper aromas, so there is no need for producers to attempt more “artisanal” methods.

The cost:quality ratio means logistics costs & retail markup are easily justified by the consumer in many
markets, and the wine can be shipped even to very distant markets -> high international presence.

People
Global success has been much helped by international critics like Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate — with a
large US readership — and Jancis Robinson, particularly well known in the UK, which has brought a small
& geographically remote country into the international spotlight. These 2 critics in particular are known for
tasting a wide range of wines (therefore have diverse audiences) so have been able to help NZ Sauv. Blanc
find its place amongst international competitors (e.g. Loire/Bordeaux blanc).

Place
NZ is commonly marketed as a tourist destination that is well connected with nature and wine marketing
has been able to exploit this such that Sauv. Blanc is not just a wine but a symbol evoking images of
nature, which appeals to consumers who may not even care much about wine. The tourism marketing
budget also therefore becomes an auxiliary budget, effectively, for wine marketing.

Promotion
New Zealand Wine is a body promoting NZ wine on a national level (on behalf of producers all over the
conutry) — this collective effort is particularly potent considering the consequent ease of funding at the
government level: so there is high efficiency in marketing, therefore high consumer awareness.

Their partnership w/ Air New Zealand is an especially powerful project as this naturally exposes a huge
audience potentially from anywhere in the world to NZ wine, further raising global awareness.
Conveniently, sense of smell is diminished at altitude and so NZ Sauv Blanc’s aromatic profile is
particularly striking/memorable on a plane versus any other wines on offer, so consumers are highly likely
to remember the style positively after the journey.