A British Lions’ tour to New Zealand is a compelling event for rugby fans…at the same time, it also offered an excellent opportunity to engage with the country’s wines. So, three days were spent in the Marlborough region, determined, as we were, to find a pristine example of Sauvignon Blanc. A wine for which UK demand was growing massively. The return flight saw 36 bottles packed into the hold, and once these had been allowed to rest, subsequent tasting revealed a clear winner: Jules Taylor. We had met her purely by chance. What stood out was that the wines were quality-driven, produced in relatively small quantities, and importantly, she did not wish to see her name stacked on the shelves of the supermarkets, thereby subject to discount after discount after discount. We immediately shipped her 2004 Sauvignon Blanc…

Creating honest, tasty, fruit-packed Marlborough wines for people like you is what Jules does best. Her wine is for people who laugh. People who sing, dance, feast and celebrate. People who sit out on the back deck solving the world’s problems. Born in Marlborough in the year the first vines were planted, Jules has quite literally grown up with Sauvignon Blanc. Deeply invested in the region and its grape growing families, she has made some of Marlborough’s best known and successful wines. These days, with the help of some decidedly tasty grapes, Jules handcrafts a small yet feisty collection of top quality wines. They are great memories in a bottle, created with sunshine from Marlborough and love from Jules.