Kiwi savalanche across the Ditch to Oz

In a phenomenon called "the savalanche", New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc wine is overwhelming the Australian market. Kiwi wine exports reached the $1 billion mark for the first time last year, and the Sauvignon Blanc avalanche, which is sweeping Chardonnay away, now makes up 30 per cent of white-wine sales in Australia.

New Zealand wine writer Michael Cooper says that cool-climate grapes like Sauvignon Blanc, with labels like Mud House and Cloudy Bay, create a wine that's perfect for the Aussie heat and lifestyle. "If you were to choose a wine style that would suit the hot Australian climate, surely you would go for something that is fresh, crisp, lively, aromatic, suited to outdoor dining. Sauvignon Blanc is all those things," Cooper told The New Zealand Herald.

Michael Cooper says that there are many reasons for Australia's import boom from New Zealand. "Kiwis drink heaps of Australian wine, so why shouldn't Australians drink heaps of Kiwi wine? I mean, trade works both ways."