WHAT TO DRINK INSTEAD OF SAUVIGNON BLANC
Four wines similar to Sauvignon Blanc, and a tasting game to find your favourite.
THE SHORT ANSWER
If you like Sauvignon Blanc, try these four wines: Loire Sauvignon Blanc for electric green fruit, Muscadet for salty mineral crunch, Picpoul de Pinet for generous citrus refreshment, and a proper Pinot Grigio from Alto Adige for stone fruit texture. They all share the things that make Sauvignon Blanc work: high acidity, clean finish, usually unoaked, and a refreshing drinkability that makes you reach for another glass.
The longer answer involves a Zelda-style map, a blind tasting game, and a scoring system that will teach you more about your palate in one evening than a year of reading wine reviews.
THE MAP
QUICK LEGEND
If you like the grassy, green bite: go Loire. If you like the salty, mineral crunch: go Muscadet. If you like the ripe, citrus-led refreshment: go Picpoul. If you like the soft texture and stone fruit: go Pinot Grigio.
WHAT CONNECTS THESE WINES
These four wines don't taste identical to New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. They share its structure, not its flavour profile:
High acidity. Clean, unoaked finish. Green fruit or citrus, sometimes both. Refreshment over weight. The kind of wine you drink rather than study.
Kiwi SB sits at the centre of the map. It's the castle. The surrounding regions are dungeons waiting to be explored, each with its own character, its own rewards, and the occasional surprise.
THE FOUR WINES
1. LOIRE SAUVIGNON BLANC, THE ORIGINAL
Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc is the same grape, transplanted from France's Loire Valley to Marlborough in the 1970s. But the two taste remarkably different. Loire Sauvignon is lean, dry, and electric. Where Kiwi SB rounds everything off with fruit sweetness, Loire strips it back to pure, crunchy green fruit and lets the acidity do the talking. It's the difference between a pop song and the demo it was based on. The demo is often better.
The Loire is one of France's most diverse wine regions, producing everything from bone-dry Sancerre to honeyed Vouvray. For more on what makes each region tick, our guide to the wine regions of France covers the full map. For Loire-specific producers worth seeking out, see our Loire producers guide.
What you'll recognise from Kiwi SB: gooseberry, cut grass, that mouthwatering acidity. What's different: drier, sharper, more mineral, less tropical. Look for: Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé, Touraine Sauvignon. £10-18.
2. MUSCADET, THE WILD CARD
From the western end of the Loire where the river hits the Atlantic. Muscadet is not Sauvignon Blanc at all. It's Melon de Bourgogne, a completely different grape. But it delivers the same promise: crisp, refreshing, bone-dry white wine that makes you want to eat something from the sea immediately.
Straight Muscadet is taut and saline with crunchy orchard fruit. Muscadet Sur Lie is the advanced version: aged on its lees (dead yeast), which gives it a bready complexity that sounds unappealing and tastes extraordinary. This is the bottle that will divide the table. That's the point.
If you want to understand what "lees" actually means and why it matters, our wine glossary covers the terminology without the pretension.
What you'll recognise from Kiwi SB: the crunch, the dryness, the refreshment. What's different: saltier, leaner, with a mineral edge Kiwi SB rarely has. Weirder. More interesting. Look for: Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie. £8-12. Stupidly underpriced for what it is.
3. PICPOUL DE PINET, THE CROWD-PLEASER
From the Languedoc coast in southern France. Warmer climate means riper fruit, and Picpoul shows it: generous, citrus-led, immediately friendly. It doesn't have the pungent grassiness of Sauvignon Blanc but delivers the same refreshing drinkability with more sunshine in the glass.
If Muscadet is the wild card, Picpoul is the diplomat. The most approachable wine on this list. The one most likely to make someone say "what IS this?" and mean it as a compliment.
What you'll recognise from Kiwi SB: the freshness, the easy-drinking quality, the "another glass" factor. What's different: more citrus than green fruit, less grassy, softer-edged in the mouth. Look for: Picpoul de Pinet (it's an appellation, so they're all called the same thing). £8-11. Absurd value.
4. PINOT GRIGIO, THE REDEMPTION ARC
Not the industrial lake water from the supermarket shelf. The real thing, from producers in the hills of northeast Italy: Alto Adige, Friuli, Collio. Proper Pinot Grigio balances yellow stone fruit with green apple acidity in a way that is genuinely beautiful. It has a weight and texture that Sauvignon Blanc rarely achieves.
Italy's wine map is vast and varied. Our guide to the wine regions of Italy covers the northeast alongside the rest of the country.
This is the least obvious connection to Kiwi SB. It's here because good Pinot Grigio delivers the same clean, refreshing, food-friendly promise through completely different means. If the first three wines are variations on a theme, this is a cover version in a different key.
What you'll recognise from Kiwi SB: clean finish, food-friendliness, the "easy to drink a whole bottle" quality. What's different: less aromatic, more textural, stone fruit instead of green fruit. Look for: anything from Alto Adige or Collio. £10-15 for a revelation.
THE TASTING GAME
WHAT YOU NEED
Four bottles (one of each wine above). Four glasses per person. A pen and the rating table below. Friends who are willing to disagree.
If you want to sharpen your technique before game night, Michael Sager's guide on how to taste wine is worth ten minutes of your time.
THE RATING TABLE
Rate each wine 1-5:
| Characteristic | What you're looking for |
|---|---|
| Green fruit intensity | Gooseberry, cut grass, green apple, herbaceous notes |
| Citrus and ripe fruit | Peach, apricot, lemon, grapefruit, tropical notes |
| Perceived acidity | How sharp or mouth-watering the wine feels |
| Perceived sweetness | How sweet the wine tastes (not actual sugar content) |
| Mineral / savoury edge | Salt, flint, yeast, anything that isn't fruit |
Our wine flavour tasting chart is a useful reference if you want more specific language for what you're tasting.
HOW TO PLAY
Step 1: Pour blind. Label the wines A, B, C, D. Don't reveal which is which.
Step 2: Taste and score. Each person rates every wine 1-5 across the five characteristics above. 1 is low, 5 is high.
Step 3: Compare scores. See where you agree and where you don't. The disagreements are the interesting part.
Step 4: Reveal the wines. Then compare your scores with the Ourglass benchmarks below.
Step 5: Retaste in a different order. Re-score. Notice how your perceptions shift once you know what you're drinking. This is where the real learning happens: your palate is not fixed. It changes with context, expectation, and experience.
OURGLASS BENCHMARKS
These scores are relative to each other, not absolute. If your table argues with ours, trust your table.
| Characteristic | Kiwi SB | Loire SB | Muscadet | Picpoul de Pinet | Pinot Grigio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green fruit intensity | 3 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| Citrus and ripe fruit | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| Perceived acidity | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| Perceived sweetness | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Mineral / savoury edge | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
THE FIVE QUESTIONS
Between rounds, pick a contestant. Pour them one wine. Ask:
- Old world or new world?
- Younger or older than five years?
- More or less than 13.5% alcohol?
- Blended or single grape?
- Is this [Wine A] or [Wine B]?
Make that last question as easy or cruel as you like. The point isn't to get it right. The point is to pay attention to what's in the glass and put words to what you find there. That's the whole skill of wine, squeezed into a parlour game.
WHAT YOUR SCORES REVEAL ABOUT YOUR PALATE
Look at where you scored highest across all four wines. That's your palate talking.
High green fruit + high acidity? You like wines with tension and bite. Loire Sauvignon and Muscadet are your home territory. Next: Albariño from Galicia, Grüner Veltliner from Austria, bone-dry Riesling from Alsace.
High citrus and ripe fruit + high perceived sweetness? You like wines that are generous and approachable. Picpoul and good Pinot Grigio are your starting points. Next: Vermentino from Sardinia, white Burgundy (Chardonnay without the oak), Fiano from southern Italy.
High mineral / savoury edge? You're an adventurous taster. Muscadet Sur Lie is just the start. Next: orange wines, skin-contact whites, natural wines from the Jura. Your palate wants to be challenged.
Everything scored around 3? You're either impressively balanced or you need another glass. Either way, that's what round two is for.
For more on how your palate develops over time, our guide on how to develop your wine palate covers the principles behind everything in this game.
YOUR SHOPPING LIST
| Wine | Region | Budget | Start with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loire Sauvignon Blanc | Loire Valley, France | £10-18 | Sancerre or Touraine |
| Muscadet Sur Lie | Loire Valley, France | £8-12 | Sèvre et Maine |
| Picpoul de Pinet | Languedoc, France | £8-11 | Any producer |
| Pinot Grigio | Northeast Italy | £10-15 | Alto Adige or Collio |
Total for the game: roughly £35-55 for four bottles. Split between four people, that's less than a round at the pub for an evening that will genuinely change how you drink wine.
Ask any decent restaurant for a Loire Sauvignon, Muscadet, Picpoul, or Alto Adige Pinot Grigio by the glass. Many will have at least one. Order all four and play the rating game over dinner. If choosing from a wine list feels daunting, our guide on how to choose wine from a restaurant wine list takes the stress out of it.
GO DEEPER
- What to drink instead of Malbec - the red wine version of this game
- If you like that wine, try this: 14 alternative styles - the broader alternatives map
- How to develop your wine palate - the principles behind everything in this game
- A beginner's guide to wine - if you're just getting started
- Is a wine subscription worth it? - how Ourglass works and what you get
Or skip the shopping and let us do the work. Every Ourglass box is built around this principle: wines picked to stretch your palate, with tasting notes, pairing suggestions, and short videos that help you understand what you're tasting and why you like it. No algorithms. No guesswork. Just great wine, understood.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
If I like Sauvignon Blanc, what else will I like?
Wines with similar characteristics include Loire Sauvignon Blanc (the grape's French origin), Muscadet (crisp and mineral), Picpoul de Pinet (refreshing citrus), and quality Pinot Grigio from Alto Adige. All share high acidity, clean unoaked finish, and refreshing drinkability. For something more aromatic, try Albariño or Grüner Veltliner.
What wine tastes most like Sauvignon Blanc?
Loire Sauvignon Blanc is the closest match because it is literally the same grape variety. Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé from France's Loire Valley have the same gooseberry and cut grass character but with more minerality and less tropical sweetness than New Zealand versions. If you want a non-Sauvignon alternative with similar freshness, Picpoul de Pinet is the easiest crossover.
What is the closest French alternative to New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc?
Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé from the Loire Valley are made from the same grape and are the direct French counterpart. They tend to be drier, more mineral, and less fruit-forward than Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. For a different grape with similar refreshment, Picpoul de Pinet from the Languedoc offers citrus-driven freshness at a friendlier price. Our guide to French wine regions covers both areas in detail.
Is Picpoul like Sauvignon Blanc?
Picpoul de Pinet shares Sauvignon Blanc's refreshing acidity and food-friendly character but tastes different. Where Sauvignon Blanc leads with green, grassy notes, Picpoul is more citrus-driven with lemon and grapefruit. Less aromatic intensity, similar drinkability. A lot of Sauvignon Blanc drinkers find Picpoul an easy and enjoyable way into other white wines.
Is Muscadet like Sauvignon Blanc?
Muscadet shares Sauvignon Blanc's crisp acidity and dry finish but is a different grape (Melon de Bourgogne) with a different flavour profile. More mineral and saline, less fruit intensity. Muscadet Sur Lie adds a yeasty, bready complexity. It appeals to Sauvignon Blanc drinkers who enjoy the refreshment but want something with more edge and a stronger connection to food, especially seafood. For pairing ideas, see our guide to matching wine and food.
What if I want the same freshness but less grassiness?
Try Picpoul de Pinet for citrus freshness without grassiness, or Pinot Grigio from Alto Adige for stone fruit and texture. Both deliver the clean, refreshing quality of Sauvignon Blanc through different flavour pathways. Vermentino from Sardinia or the south of France is another good shout: aromatic, herbal, and fresh without the pungent green notes.
What is a cheaper alternative to Sauvignon Blanc?
Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie (£8-12) and Picpoul de Pinet (£8-11) are both cheaper than most decent Sancerre and deliver similar refreshment. Touraine Sauvignon from the Loire Valley is another strong option: it's the same grape as Sancerre at roughly half the price (£8-11). For a budget Pinot Grigio that actually tastes of something, look for Friuli or Trentino on the label, or a named producer rather than just "Pinot Grigio" in big type.