Drinking Mojitos with Gary Jordan at the Cluver wedding on Saturday, Gary observed “I can buy quality grapes and wine from any varietal far cheaper than I can grow it myself.” Nowhere is this more obvious than with Sauvignon Blanc with the Cape awash with quality Sauvvie and widely discounted by online retailers like Johan Wegner at Getwine.

The vibrant grassy green style of the great grape from the Loire and Bordeaux was pioneered by Cloudy Bay from New Zealand. And it looks like the land of the long white cloud has come up with a solution to overproduction: sparkling Sauvignon, described by New York blogger Eric Arnold as “sweet, carbonated, soda-like wine [which were] an instant domestic hit, selling hundreds of thousands of cases for major producers such as Villa Maria. I tasted several of these wines on my trip to New Zealand last year, and they’re truly wretched. But newly legal New Zealand drinkers love them so much, that sparkling Sauvignon Blanc sales have taken a major bite out of the market for RTD Alcopops, long a thorn in the side of the beer and wine industries, not to mention law enforcement and health advocates. Moreover, if New Zealand’s 18- to 21-year-old drinkers get started with sparkling Sauvignon Blanc, there’s no reason to think they won’t take a step or two up the quality chain as they get older, and develop a taste for wine between sparkling Sauvignon Blanc and what’s landing on shelves in the U.S. for $10.”

This one rings all the bells: responsible drinking, accessible, low price… Heck with a style like this Sipho and Sibongile in Soweto may join the party.