Behind the Glass: Why New Zealand Wines Taste the Way They Do

Can You Taste a Place?

There’s something unmistakable about a glass of New Zealand wine. That Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc that tastes like an explosion of passionfruit and crushed herbs. A Central Otago Pinot that evokes red cherry, spice, and something slightly savoury. These experiences aren’t imagined - they’re real, sensory cues that leap out of the glass. But why do NZ wines taste this way? What’s the mechanism behind that vibrancy and sense of place?

To find out, we turned to the podcast Wine Blast, hosted by well-known Master of Wine duo Susie Barrie and Peter Richards. In their episode "Lessons in Wine Chemistry", they speak with Gus Zhu - a wine scientist and the first Chinese MW - about the real science behind taste. Zhu’s book, Behind the Glass, breaks down the chemistry of what we perceive as flavour. But unlike some dense wine science, his style is grounded, sensory, and (importantly) accessible.

Zhu’s central idea is one we love: sensorial terroir. It’s not just about where a wine is from - it’s about how that place, and the way the wine is made, is experienced through aroma, taste, texture, and even the wine’s movement across your palate. Sensorial terroir lives in the details: the mouthwatering acidity, the aromatic signature that evokes a specific landscape, the texture that tells you how a wine was made and aged. It’s not always obvious - but once you tune in, it’s unforgettable.

Thanks to support from Gus and the Wine Blast team, we’ve composed this blog to explore why NZ wines taste like NZ - and how to taste them with new eyes, ears, and noses.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Taste

Words like ‘zippy’, ‘linear’, or ‘silky’ are amongst many that get thrown around a lot in tasting rooms - but what do they actually mean? Why do certain wines feel fresh or vibrant, while others feel heavy or flat? Gus Zhu’s idea of sensorial terroir helps decode these sensations. It suggests that what we perceive in a wine - the flavours, structure, texture - isn’t random. It’s the result of measurable, chemical building blocks shaped by terroir, technique, and grape variety.

These building blocks include thiols (which bring tropical, green aromatics), pyrazines (responsible for herbal notes), esters (fruity smells), acids (which deliver freshness and tension), and phenolics (responsible for texture and grip). The precise combination of these, along with alcohol and sugar levels, creates a wine’s signature.

Take Sauvignon Blanc, for example. The ‘fruit explosion’ often associated with Marlborough comes from volatile thiols - especially 3MH (3-mercaptohexan-1-ol) and 3MHA (3-mercaptohexyl acetate) - which deliver intense notes of grapefruit, passionfruit, and guava. Methoxypyrazines, like IBMP, add that classic grassy, green pepper, blackcurrant leaf and gooseberry aroma. These compounds are formed in the vineyard and released during cool fermentation. Canopy management, early picking, and reductive winemaking are conscious strategies NZ winemakers use to elevate these characteristics.

Gus explains: “Describing a wine as having 'purity' or 'vibrancy' isn’t just poetic - it often points to real, measurable characteristics like acidity, phenolic clarity (that clean, defined structure you feel on the palate, often linked to how smooth or precise a wine feels in the mouth), and aromatic compounds that are typical of the region and variety”.

It also explains why two wines made from the same grape can taste entirely different. Place matters. So do decisions in the vineyard and winery. New Zealand’s cool climate, long ripening period, and thoughtful winemaking amplify clarity, intensity, and what many people describe - often without knowing why - as "energy”.

“When you bring together feeling and fact, wine gets even more fascinating”. Susie Barrie MW & Peter Richards MW, Wine Blast

From Chemistry to the Glass

Let’s take three very Kiwi examples and look at them through Zhu’s lens.

1. Marlborough: Blank Canvas Holdaway Sauvignon Blanc 2023

This wine’s hallmarks - passionfruit, gooseberry, lime zest, cut grass - are the result of thiols, especially 3MH and 3MHA. These volatile sulphur compounds are released during fermentation and can smell explosively aromatic. Marlborough’s cool nights and high UV levels help grapes build up the thiol precursors; then careful winemaking preserves them.

Zhu: “Thiols are incredibly potent - they bind directly with our aroma receptors. They’re why Sauvignon Blanc can smell so unmistakably tropical”.

2. Central Otago: Akitu A1 Pinot Noir 2021

This wine’s red cherry fruit, earthiness, and floral lift comes from a mix of esters, phenolics, and gentle oak handling. Fermentation with whole bunches and wild yeast introduces savoury complexity. The region’s elevation and diurnal shifts (big

temperature swings from day to night) allow slow ripening and excellent acid retention.

Zhu: “Phenolics influence not only structure but also perception of flavour. They’re key to how we understand the tactile side of wine”.

3. North Canterbury: Pegasus Bay Bel Canto Dry Riesling 2023

This is Riesling turned up a notch - intensely aromatic, full of citrus and orchard fruit, with a dry, mouth-coating texture. Natural fermentation and extended time on lees give it both weight and energy. It tastes like someone zested a lemon over a cool stone, then served it with a side of florals.

As Zhu puts it: “When acidity is high but balanced by phenolic texture, it gives a wine both tension and generosity. That’s what makes some dry Rieslings feel almost architectural - they have structure, angles, and a kind of sculpted length”.

Tasting with Intention

You don’t need to memorise chemical names to understand Zhu’s point. The idea is to taste with intention. As Susie and Peter put it on the Wine Blast, wine becomes even more fascinating when you approach it with both feeling and a little bit of fact.

Here are a few ways to taste like a chemist (without killing the magic):

· Notice the nose: Are the aromas sharp, soft, green, fruity, savoury? Do they evolve in the glass?

· Focus on texture: Is it crisp, creamy, chalky, oily? This is where phenolics live.

· Watch the finish: Does it fade fast or echo? Acid, sugar, and tannins all play a role.

Gus Zhu’s takeaway is that the science isn’t a killjoy - it’s a decoder. It can make your tasting experiences more confident, (you know what you like and why you like it), especially when translating what you like into what you buy.

For us at Kiwi Cru, that’s the gold. The best examples wear their origins on their sleeves - bright, aromatic, expressive, and often full of natural freshness - qualities we love not just because of where they’re from, but how they feel.

So we choose wines and winemakers with these qualities in mind. The next time you’re browsing our range, or scanning a wine list, ask yourself: what am I in the mood to feel? Sharp and focused? Textural and generous? Fresh and zesty? The language of wine might start in chemistry, but it ends in connection.

And if you’re curious about what happens when that glass meets a plate - why a Sauvignon Blanc sings with fish and chips, or a Pinot Noir lifts a spaghetti Bolognese - you’ll want to read Part 2 of this series. In our sequel blog, we head off into the chemistry of food and wine pairing, inspired once again by Gus Zhu’s sensory insights. Coming soon….