Get to Know Kim Crawford: The Story Behind the Label

Welcome to the first episode of 'Label Legends: The Lives Behind the Wines,' where sommelier Erin is diving into the fascinating stories of renowned winemakers. In this episode, Erin explores the incredible journey of Kim Crawford, the visionary behind Kim Crawford wines. 

Discover how Kim Crawford revolutionized Sauvignon Blanc and put New Zealand wines on the global map, from his humble beginnings to international acclaim. Learn about his innovative wine-making techniques, advocacy for screw cap closures, and his latest venture, Loveblock, focusing on organic and sustainable practices. Grab a glass and join Erin for this insightful and inspiring look at one of the most celebrated names in the wine industry.

0:00 Get to Know Kim Crawford: The Story Behind the Label
02:44 History
03:45 Screw Cap Closures
04:31 Global Reach
04:31 Marker
04:31 Marker
05:33 New Zealand Wine History
08:23 Other Grape Varieties
09:10 The Sale of Kim Crawford Wines
09:49 Awards, Sustainability, and New Label
11:44 Closing

🍷 ✨ Discover your personal wine palate personality. Take the Quiz

🍎 Grab Your Fall 2024 Pairing Inspiration Guide

⭐️ Check out our FREE resources and guides.⭐️

📫 Sign Up for Erin's Monthly Newsletter


Have a question or a comment to share? hello@winegirlacademy.com

Follow WGA! 👇

⭐️Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/winegirlacademy/

⭐️Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Wine-Girl-Academy-102017018628996

⭐️Tiktok: www.tiktok.com/@winegirlacademy

⭐️Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/WineGirlAcademy/_saved/

Etsy Shop: https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/WineGirlShop - more products being added

⭐️Wine and Chocolate Course Udemy

⭐️Bubbles 101 Course - Udemy - Udemy

Transcript

Erin: 0:00

If you love wine food and a good story. Then welcome to the very first episode of a new podcast series that I'm calling. Label legends, the lives behind the wines. And in this series, I'm going to be taking you behind the label if you will. And sharing with you, the fascinating stories of the visionaries, whose names grey, some of the most beloved wine labels around the world. Today is the first episode in this series and I'm kicking this up with a wine-making legend to revolutionize the world of Savion blog and put New Zealand wines on the global map. You may have already guessed today I'm diving into the story of Kim Crawford, the man behind the iconic Kim Crawford wine label from humble beginnings to international acclaim. I'm going to be exploring how Kim Crawford's innovative approach and unwavering commitment to quality transformed his brand into a household name around the globe. So, if you're ready to learn more about Kim Crawford, his wine making style, And the new brand he has started let's get started and dive right into today's episode. Hi everyone. And welcome to the wine shop talk. I'm your host smile, Erin Rosar. And I'm so happy that you're here with me today. If we haven't met before, it's lovely to have you here. And if we have welcome back now, for those of you who are new, you should know that I've been a professional semi for over 20 years now. And it's my passion and my privilege to make learning about wine. Not only fun and easy, but also practical. I want to make sure that you leave every single episode with some real life helpful tips that you'll be able to use right away to help you find why is it you're going to be able to love and enjoy and share with family and friends. I want you to think of me as your very own practical Somalia, and today's episode is fun. And this is an exciting new series that I've put together, because wine history is a personal passion of mine. And I want to share that with you. And I think many times while we all love the wines and we know the labels, we don't always know the fascinating and incredible stories of the people who are behind the wines that actually have their name on the label. And so over the next coming weeks, do, you can look forward to me, introducing you to some of the famous, real life people who are unwinds. That you have most likely enjoyed in your glass and they may even be some of your favorites. And I thought it'd be really fun to start this off PI diving into the story of Kim Crawford. And the first thing that I want to share with Kim Crawford is that many people assume that Kim Crawford is woman, but Kim Crawford is a man. And I'm so excited. to start this series off by diving into the story of the visionary winemaker, who many will say transformed New Zealand, 70 a block into an international sensation. Now let's just go back and set the stage on a little bit of the history behind Kim Crawford wines. So Kim Crawford wines began in 1996. Not that long ago in the big scheme of things. And it was founded by winemaker Kim Crawford and his wife, Erica in New Zealand. Now unlike many traditional wineries, they started off without owning any vineyards. Instead, he sourced grapes from various growers across the country, allowing them the flexibility to choose only the best grapes and maintain high quality. This is a really important part of the story in that Kim didn't start with a whole bunch of land under vine he. Built a sense of community with the growers in New Zealand He didn't own the land themselves He went out and made partnerships with grape growers in the different areas of New Zealand, which allowed him to pick the best grapes and really find those flavors and aromatics from specific vineyards that he was looking for in his wines. He also became known for being a huge advocate of screw caps. And he jumped on this before many other wineries did. He was one of the forefronts and right around that time where people were on the fence about how they felt about screw caps on their wine bottles, there was definitely a perception of a screw cap. Wine style was of lower quality and not one of fine wines. And Kim Crawford definitely was at the forefront of saying that this is a great closure for the wine styles that I am making my wines. Any one of them to be drunk and enjoyed fresh and young. And the screw cap was an ideal closure to maintain not only the quality of wines, But also the flavor profile that he wanted them to express in the glass. Now most likely you have enjoyed a glass of beautiful aromatic and flavorful Kim Crawford, 70 unblocked. And that's definitely their signature wine. Known for. It's a vibrant fruit-forward and zesty. Flavor profiled and it has captured the pallets of wine enthusiasts around the world. Particularly in north America and the United States specifically where it became one of the top selling New Zealand wines for the country. Today Kim Crawford wines are available in over 75 countries. Making it one of new Zealand's most globally recognized wine brands is also the reason that I wanted to start off with Kim Crawford wines in this series about the label legends and the stories of the names that are on the bottles of the wines that you're enjoying, because. I know no matter where you are listening in from, from around the world who have most likely seen the bottle of Kim Crawford wines on the shelf, if not enjoyed it in your glass, I do want to share a little bit of new Zealand's wine history and how New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc really set the world of fire when they came forward with this very unique profile that makes New Zealand 70 on blog. So beloved around the world. The success of Kim Crawford wines is part of a larger trend. The GRU about the New Zealand wine industry and particular finding a niche for their specific flavor profile for their savvy. I'm blank. Now the story of Semyon Blunkett New Zealand really begins in the 1970s where wine makers in the Marlborough region began experimenting with this grape. They found that the region's unique climate soil conditions were perfect for cultivating seventy-one blank. But also that those conditions resulted in wines with a very distinctive, vibrant and aromatic characteristics. Before this time, most people were enjoying Sancerre who may blog beautiful. 78 blocks from France. These would have been the classic typical semi-auto blocks. And they're much softer. They're a little bit more subdued. If you will, in the glass. Still those classic profiles are there. The lemon, the lime, the bit of grapefruit, as well as the time the cut grass, all of those are there. But coming from New Zealand, the aromatics sort of got dialed up by a hundred times. if you will became very, very pungent in the. Glass. So if you are enjoying a beautiful glass of New Zealand, Samuel blog, and you want to find its original basis, if you will, or its ancestors, then it will be the French seventy-one blank. That is what you would be comparing to and comparing is the wrong word, but it gives you an idea of the two very distinct classic styles. We now have the traditional Savion blog, let's a little bit more subdued in its flavors. The aromatics are there. A little bit more integrated where New Zealand, somebody on blog art. Very alive in the glass, tons of fruit and nut flavors, and very pungent aromatics, some will say almost too pungent in that they can be a little bit trickier to pair with food because the flavor profiles are so alive and incredible. And because of these incredible flavor profiles coming out of the Seveann from the Marbury. Proration then the real breakthrough for New Zealand wines came in the 1980s with the release of cloudy Bay's 70 L block. So if you have had a glass of cloudy bay, that's kind of considered the first wine that really put New Zealand on the map. And it garnered international claim and started the ball rolling for other winemakers and other wineries to really embrace that 70 old Blunck was going to be a signature grape for the country of New Zealand. Now it's important. Know that well, Kim Crawford is known for his savvy on blank. he's also making beautiful rosés Pinot noir, Chardonnay, Pinot GRI, which is one of my favorites for sure. Cause I love that grape, but definitely if you have been loving new Kim Crawford semi on Blanca, I would. Highly recommend you try some of the other wine styles that they are producing as well. They are wonderful wines, also I can say, as an instructor, when I love about them is they're very, varietally specific. They're always a great example of a true expression of that grape identity. So if you love seeing a variety or blends, I do some lens as well, but for single varieties, I think they do a brilliant job of really bringing grape varieties to life in the glass. Now it's important to know. In 2003 Kim Crawford, the brand was sold to a company called VIN Corp international, which is a large wine company that has many different brands underneath it. And then because of the success of the Kim Crawford label, constellation brands later acquired it as well. Now, constellation is a large wine conglomerate. They're one of the biggest wine brands in the world they have brands such as Penfold. Tenfold under their umbrella as well and constellation brands was able to take him Crawford around the globe where today, it's celebrated and enjoyed in over 75 countries around the world. Now. I won't even start to list off all the accolades and metals that Kim Crawford wines have received through the years, but definitely they continue to be because of their solid commitment to quality, but also that grape expression that comes through so brilliantly in the glass, definitely a wine brand that continues to be celebrated for is a high quality. And wine-making. Now? You maybe wondering what happened to Kim Crawford? He started an incredible wine brand in the nineties. He received global acclaim for his wines. He was able to sell his winery. And so what happens to him? Does he just retire and sit on his porch and enjoy the fruits of his labors? But no, he does not. Luckily, Kim Crawford as a winemaker has continued to. Honed his craft, if you will. And him and his wife, Erica founded a new wine label called love block. So if you love the winemaking style of Kim Crawford, Lovelock is a wine label that you'll want to take a look for in your favorite wine store. Kim is continuing his passion of winemaking and his new label of block also has an emphasis on organic and sustainable wine making practices. So if you're lucky to have the love block wines available in your favorite store, you're going to see a really pretty label of a bit of a dandy lion and the beautiful yellow flower. And then a bit of the wish makers fluff the Danny lane fluff. If you will really pretty label and you're going to find seven, you Blanca Pinot GRI, good versa tremor. And pinoir. And they're pulling grapes from Marlboro and central Otago, which is in the lower part of the lure island of New Zealand and known for a stunning penal. Ours is one of my favorite places in the world for piano bar. So. If you are looking to see where Kim Crawford's passions have taken him next, then the left block wines should definitely be on your radar. I hope that you have enjoyed today's episode. It's a bit of a different spin, but I want to bring you some of the stories behind the labels of the wines that you were enjoying. I think it's so important to realize there's real life people behind those wines in your glass. And I think Kim story is such an inspirational one. And It shows you in a short amount of time, how much. He's been able to accomplish. When you think about the mid nineties is really when this brand came onto the world stage and how much it has grown and how many fans around the world that he has is just incredible. His entire story exemplifies a success and his commitment to quality innovation and sustainability is so important. And he had made them not only beloved wines, but a beloved winemaker and consulted. for the wine industry, especially as an advocate for the wines and wine styles of New Zealand. So, whether you're enjoying a glass of signature 70 on blank, or trying out some of their other wines, both of the Kim Crawford or now the love block wines, there is no denying that Kim Crawford has had an incredible impact. On the world of wine. Now, if you've enjoyed this week's episode next week, I'm going to go back in time a little bit further. And I'm going to be sharing the story of Volvo ClickHole. The widow Clicko and this woman definitely deserves to have her story told it is an incredible story. I have a young widow who then became, and still is one of the most well-known champagne brands around the world. So if you love a beautiful glass of champagne and you have enjoyed a glass of Clayco champagne, then next week's episode, I'm going to dive into her incredible story that I think is just going to blow your mind of all that she was able to accomplish. Especially during the time that she lived her life. So be sure to join me next week and learn all about her fascinating story. Now as always, if you have any questions or comments about today's episode, I would love to hear from you. You can reach me at hello. Uh, wine girl academy.com or come say hi on Instagram or Tik doc. You'll find me at wine girl academy. Now, if you are new welcome, you are going to find some links below in the show notes. There are two my signature pallet personality quiz that you can take the quiz and discover your personal pallet personality and receive an entire free guide book, all about wines that you're going to like and enjoy, and a list of words that are going to help you shop and find wines that you're going to love as well as link to all the different freebies I have available on the website right now. And I do have a summer. Wine bingo sheet that you can use as a fun checklist of one styles to try this summer. Both of those links are going to be in the show notes below. On that note, I want to wish you all a wonderful week. I'll see you next Tuesday for the next episode in our series. The widow Coco so cheers to you by now.