Christiena Sauvignon Blanc

pairs best with anything light and/or herbily, such as chicken, pork, fish, shellfish.

Alluvial and sandy soils that offer good drainage but also ample minerals that contribute to the complexity and minerality of our Sauvignon Blanc wines. Planted on flatter land that ensures the grapes receive sunlight evenly throughout the ripening season. The Sauvignon Blanc grapes are hand harvested early in the vintage and at night when it is coolest (between midnight and 2am). The grapes are picked over two tranches – the first picking provides the grassy and elegant tones for our Sauvignon Blanc wines while the second selection provides the riper fruit for the mid-palate that makes this wine so sought after.

After harvesting, the grapes are brought to the cellar where they are gently crushed. The juice then undergoes skin contact for 4-5 hours under a protective layer of dry ice (this protects the juice from oxidation). The free run juice is then racked into a stainless steel tank where the must is inoculated with selected yeasts and the fermentation begins. Our Sauvignon Blanc undergoes a cold fermentation of between 11-13 degrees Celsius and just before fermentation is complete, a third of the wine is moved into concrete eggs to allow for a more even distribution of the lees contact which enriches the mouthfeel and body of the wine.

Van Loveren has been in the Retief family since 1937 when Hennie Retief snr acquired the land in the Robertson Valley and named it after Christina van Loveren, an ancestor of his new bride, Jean van Zyl. From humble beginnings, Van Loveren has grown to become South Africa's leading family-owned winery, known for their consistency, award-winning wines as well as innovation.