New Zealand produces many varieties of wines, but personally I love their crisp, white wines. One of the newer ones to hit the LCBO shelves is Te Awa Left Field Sauvignon Blanc, which I had the opportunity to preview recently. The Te Awa winery is nestled in the heart of the Gimblett Gravels wine growing region in Hawke’s Bay.

New Zealand's Te Awa Left Field Sauvignon Blanc

TeAwa Left Field Sauvignon Blanc

The first thing that caught my eye was the label on the bottle. Kiwi artist Aaron Pollack designed the whimsical artwork that adorns the bottles in this collection. The artist made sure he channelled the symbolic birthplace of TeAwa in all of the different labels in this collection: the windmill. The “creature” on the Sauvignon Blanc is what the artist called the Flying Squidmill. According to Richard Painter, Left Field’s winemaker, “This collection is about showing the world how Te Awa does things differently. Every bottle of wine is created in an unconventional manner. From the taste to the label, it is truly an out of left field experience”.

Open up this bottle and you’ll find a delicious wine with beautiful aromas of passion fruit, nectarine and lemongrass alongside other green herbs. The winery suggests you pair this crisp wine with grilled prawns and fresh lemon.

2016 Te Awa Left Field Sauvignon Blanc

2016 Te Awa Left Field Sauvignon Blanc

This easy drinking wine goes for $18.95 and it’s reference number is #487496. After trying this I suggest you head out to your closest LCBO and grab yourselves a couple of bottles. You don’t want to go through patio season without enjoying this.