New Zealand Winegrowers are calling on white wine lovers across the world to celebrate New Zealand white wine this May.

The theme of the month, Pour Yourself a Glass of New Zealand, comes at a time when New Zealand’s top three exported white wine varieties are internationally celebrated with International Sauvignon Blanc Day (6 May), International Pinot Gris Day (17 May) and International Chardonnay Day (26 May) all falling in the same month.

During the month New Zealand Winegrowers will be running a series of activations, as well as petitioning the Unicode Consortium to develop a white wine emoji.

“New Zealand white wine makes up 93 per cent of our global exports, and while Sauvignon Blanc represents 85 per cent of our exports, New Zealand also produces other world-class white wine varieties such as Pinot Gris and Chardonnay,” said Charlotte Read, General Manager New Zealand Winegrowers.

“We hope that by requesting the white wine emoji from the Unicode Consortium it will shine a spotlight on the breadth of high-quality white wine that New Zealand produces, as well securing the emoji that has long been missing from the keyboards of digital devices since their creation in the late 1990’s.”

New Zealand Winegrowers is calling on people across the globe to sign the petition. As May ends, the petition will then be submitted to the Unicode Consortium along with a submission requesting the inclusion of the emoji.

New Zealand’s geographical location and maritime climate provide perfect conditions for growing white grapes and allow for the retention of natural acidity across a wide range of varieties. None of the country’s winegrowing regions are far from the sea and coupled with long hours of sunshine and often crisp night temperatures it’s the ideal recipe for fine, fresh, delicate white wines.

“Across our 10 wine regions, New Zealand produces over 40 varieties of wine,” said Read.

“Sauvignon Blanc may have been the first to put New Zealand wine on the map, but New Zealand also excels in the production of an increasing range of styles and varieties – from Chardonnay to Riesling to Albariño, there is a New Zealand white wine to suit every palate.”

You can view more information about the Pour Yourself a Glass of New Zealand campaign and sign the White Wine Emoji petition here.

Are you a Daily Wine News subscriber? If not, click here to join our mailing list. It’s free!