‘Kim Crawford Wines’ was established in 1996 by Kim and Erica Crawford and has a unique history for being one of New Zealand’s first ‘virtual wineries’. Now, we don’t mean the grapes were sourced through digital scans and fermented on the Internet, but more that there was not actually a home base site for the winery. Grapes were sourced from contract growers, while the wine was made at other wineries sites using their facilities. Sales, marketing and admin had a home base in Kim and Erica’s living room in Auckland. Talk about innovation!
Kim sold the winery to ‘Constellation’ in 2005 and handed the reins over to their team, lead by chief Winemaker Anthony Walkenhorst, who endeavoured to maintain the Kim Crawford philosophy and style and continue their reputation of excellence. The ‘Kim Crawford’ philosophy has flavour at their core - this means the grapes are the single most defining factor in their wine process. Their tag line aptly being: focus on flavour.
The vineyards of ‘Kim Crawford’ are located on incredible coastal sites that benefit from long days, sea breezes and crisp nights. This in conjunction with New Zealand’s seasonal differences, means that the grapes have time to ripen allowing them to build the intense flavour profile ‘Kim Crawford’ covet so much. Control over grape supply has always been essential for this range and ‘Constellation’ continues to maintain good contacts with growers in the region, ensuring consistency of quality and style.
The ‘Kim Crawford’ range cover all the New World classic varietals with Sauvignon Blanc, Rose, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir. Here at Specialist Cellars we boast the ‘Kim Crawford Spitfire Sauvignon Blanc’, whose name says it all - a total knockout and flavour bomb of personality.
To find out more about the Kim Crawford story and their wines, visit their website here.