Consistency and quality can be found in a fridge

Some people go through life looking for answers. The meaning of life, the origins of the universe, the existence of God or solving the Earth's crises to make it a better, more sustainable place for future generations.
Me on the other hand, I have much more pressing issues to ponder - like how on earth (despite me changing my name and locale numerous times), Readers Digest have managed to track me and chase me around the country for the last 20 years and why won't they leave me alone?
Their magazines don't interest me (except when they feature "I survived a shark/bear/zebra attack" stories which provide vital "my life's not so bad" distraction whilst waiting for attention to a root canal).
And I refuse to affix a shiny disc to that picture or stick six stamps worth $50,000 each on to that stupid letter and send it away so I'll have a chance to be put in the super-extra-bonus-chance draw for $250k.
I did manage to shake them for a while, but they've started writing again. "We removed you from our mailing list, we understood your concern and were happy to accommodate your needs," they said. "But we can now provide you with a 'select group of mailings' that only contain our most exciting offers. And we guarantee you won't receive anything but these 'select few offers'."
However, I'm pretty sure every letter they sent over the years had the words "select", "few" and "exciting offers" plastered on them.
If I reply, even just to tell them I'd rather perform an apronectomy on myself with a pair of pinking shears than renew any kind of contact with Readers Digest, they'll take that as a yes and send me more letters.
If I don't reply, they'll interpret that as an indication that I don't harbour the same ferocious hostility as I once did and they'll start sending me more letters.
So what does this have to do with wine? Well, it's about marketing and being tenacious, especially when times are tough.
But as the New Zealand Government announces funding to start promoting New Zealand wine exports to the US, Whitehaven Wines in Marlborough has already been declared the favourite New Zealand wine being poured for American consumers.
Whitehaven's sauvignon blanc has been ranked the top imported Sauvignon Blanc and third behind two US labels of all top-selling sauvignon blanc in American restaurants, in research done by the US Wine and Spirits magazine.
Whitehaven managing director Sue White says the accolade is brilliant news for her company which has been working hard for the past seven years building its profile in the US market, where the annual sales of ultra-premium Sauvignon Blanc now stand at 70,000 cases.
"The American consumer is only just beginning to understand sauvignon blanc and Whitehaven has played a significant part in paving the way for sauvignon in the US. To be acknowledged from amongst all the imported sauvignon blanc as the top pour in the eyes of the American consumer is a fantastic achievement," says Sue.
So clearly it's important to continue spending money on marketing and sales initiatives to keep that brand visibility during times of intense competition.
It's also incredibly important to ensure that if sauvignon blanc is our major export, shouldn't we be doing more to ensure it arrives at its overseas destination in pristine condition?
Talking with a major logistics company this week, I was shocked to hear that they suspected there were huge volumes of sauvignon blanc being shipped across the globe (often to destinations in the tropics) unrefrigerated.
This suddenly reminded me of comments I'd received from international visitors over the years who've said things such as: "Oh this sauvignon blanc tastes so much better here than it does back home."
Auckland scientists studying the unique characteristics of New Zealand sauvignon blanc have shown that cold storage can triple the shelf-life of the wine by reducing the loss of characteristic tropical fruit aromas over time.
I believe time and temperature are the two biggest influences on how a bottle of sav is going to be appreciated. We're always told we're supposed to drink sauvignon early because it'll start to lose those gorgeous crisp, grassy, tropical flavours. Flavours deteriorate much faster in an unrefrigerated rail container travelling in 45C-plus heat across Nevada or sitting on a dock in sweltering Bangkok.
"Our results show that wines in cold-storage retain their desirable characteristics for much longer, and this has important implications for how producers, exporters, retailers, and consumers handle their wines" says associate professor Paul Kilmartin, of the Wine Science Programme and Department of Chemistry at The University of Auckland.
The research proved that the level of decline in the all-important thiols and fruity esters for sauvignon blanc stored at 5C was three times lower than those of wines stored at 18C.
Essentially this means these wines remained punchy and crisp for longer and those stored in "normal" conditions often developed asparagus and canned pea characters prematurely.
"Well-managed refrigeration could help to improve the consistency of quality wines sold here and overseas, and allow the wine industry to cope with changes in supply and demand from year to year" says Kilmartin.
Of course, it all comes down to money, but to me it seems logical that if we're so careful in the vineyard and winery to create such a uniquely special product, we should begin treating it like a perishable product and do everything we can to protect it on its most important voyage.
It also means that if you've been buying up bargain savs for that summer wedding - it'd pay to find someone with a big fridge if you want it to be at its lip-smacking, gum-tingling best.