Marcus Pickens on Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and the Region's Future

Marcus Pickens explains how Marlborough is organised and how its sub-regions differ, from the Wairau and Southern Valleys to the Awatere and South Coast, covering soils, climate and why pick dates can vary by weeks.

Marlborough has a Sauvignon Blanc success story, but surplus wine and changing demand bring new challenges. Chris Scott and Marcus Pickens of Wine Marlborough discuss what comes next.

John Forrest of Forrest Wines was one of the first to grow Albarino commercially in New Zealand. He talks Marlborough sites, advice from Telmo Rodriguez, and why oak is off the table. Chris tries it live and gives his verdict.

Mid strength wine that still tastes like the real thing? John Forrest of Forrest Wines has been at it for 20 years and says drinkers are fed up with zero alcohol.

Lance Piggot, co-founder of Vintage Roots, joins Chris to mark 40 years of organic wine. We cover the founding story, natural wine, regenerative farming, PIWI grapes and the future of packaging.

Chris looks at 22 years of Liv-ex data to see how fine wine has really performed since 2004, comparing the Liv-ex 50, 100 and 1000 against the FTSE, Dow Jones and NASDAQ, once fees and storage costs are taken into account.

Rare bottles. Bonded warehouses. Six figure sales. Chris pulls back the curtain on the fine wine collector market and how the trade really works.

Chris Scott breaks down the fine wine investment market: the three distinct markets, and why provenance and storage make or break a wine's value.

Why do some grape varieties resist mildew while others don't? Dr Darrell Lizamore breaks down the genetics of PIWI grapes and what it takes to breed disease resistance into a vine without losing flavour.

Dr Darrell Lizamore of the Bragato Research Institute explains how New Zealand scientists are breeding new clones of Sauvignon Blanc, aiming for disease resistance, frost tolerance and better flavour without losing the grape's true identity.