The rites of spring

Wine drinkers instinctively reach for New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc when the weather heats up (no wonder last Friday was International Sauvignon Blanc Day). More often than not, they choose Nobilo. Nikola and Zuva Nobilo left Croatia in 1936, with war on the horizon; they emigrated to New Zealand, where Nikola planted the country’s first commercial grapevines in 1943 west of Auckland. He presided over the birth of New Zealand’s wine industry, championing the use of classic grape varieties instead of hybrids, promoting the consumption of wine with food, and helping to develop Marlborough as a wine region.