While Australian wines may still be the best known of all the wines from “Down Under,” there’s a case to be made that New Zealand wines have started to capture the public’s imagination. And, as if to underscore that fact, E. & J. Gallo recently acquired the exclusive rights to distribute New Zealand’s Saint Clair Family Estate wines in the United States, effective immediately.

Known for producing some of the best Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand’s Marlborough region, Saint Clair Family Estate is the latest addition to Gallo’s premium import portfolio. With the addition of Saint Clair Family Estate, Gallo has the ability to bring even more attention to the high-quality wines being grown in New Zealand, such as the Sauvignon Blanc wines from Marlborough.

"Saint Clair Family Estate is well-known around the world and we are excited to introduce this award-winning Sauvignon Blanc to American consumers," said Roger Nabedian, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Gallo’s Premium Wine Division.

Owners Neal and Judy Ibbotson first planted vines in 1978, and were one of the early family pioneers to the Marlborough wine industry. Today, Saint Clair Family Estate owns fifteen vineyards located throughout the Wairau, Awatere, and Omaka Valleys of Marlborough, as well as Hawkes Bay. This allows the winery to specialize its plantings by grape variety in the sub-regions that provide the most suitable terroir for each.

"Saint Clair Family Estate is thrilled to have entered into a partnership with E. & J. Gallo Winery as the exclusive national distributor for the Saint Clair brand in the USA," said founder Neal Ibbotson. He added, "We share many of the same values – family, passion and quality and the move is an exciting opportunity for us to further develop our brand in the USA market."

In terms of branding, the new wines will be marketed as premium wines from New Zealand. That branding will be supported by a price point at the very end of the premium price range. The Saint Clair Family Estate Sauvignon Blanc will retail for $28. While the wine is already available in select states, the national roll-out is scheduled for the first three months of 2018.

The Gallo portfolio is comprised of more than 80 unique brands, including Barefoot Cellars, Dark Horse, and Gallo Family Vineyards, as well as premium box wines The Naked Grape and Vin Vault. Premium offerings include Apothic, Chateau Souverain, Carnivor, Columbia Winery, Ecco Domani, Edna Valley Vineyard, J Vineyards & Winery, Louis M. Martini, MacMurray Estate Vineyards, Mirassou, Orin Swift, Talbott Vineyards, and William Hill Estate.

The new Saint Clair Family Estate wines will join other highly acclaimed imports in the Gallo portfolio, such as Alamos, Brancaia, La Marca, Las Rocas, Martín Códax, Whitehaven, and LUX Wines, importers of Allegrini, Argiano, Jermann, Pieropan and Renato Ratti.

For U.S. wine drinkers looking to branch out beyond Australian wines, 2018 could be the year when acclaimed wines from New Zealand finally become top of mind.