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Dry River vineyard was established in 1979 by Dr Neil and Dawn McCallum. In 2003 the vineyard and winery were sold to Julian Robertson and Reg Oliver with Neil staying at the helm as Chief Winemaker until his retirement in 2011. The name Dry River was that of one of the earliest South Wairarapa sheep stations.
Although their vines are planted several kilometres away on the northern boundary of the Martinborough township, Dry River aptly describes the very arid, gravely and free-draining site. The first wines, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer and Pinot gris were bottled in 1984 and Dry River has since developed a reputation as one of New Zealand’s most iconic pioneering wineries. The wines are largely sold by mail order and are not widely available through the retail trade. We are lucky enough to be able to present some for sale to you.
The vineyards and winery are cared for by a small and dedicated team overseen by Ant Mackenzie, General Manager. In the winery, Wilco Lam is the winemaker with Coralie Allexant-Manière assists him. Heather Gibbs looks after administration and the vineyards are tended by Nick James, Vineyard Manager, Rob Smith and Michelle Mills.
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Five years ago, we planted a new block of Chardonnay where we used to grow our Gewurztraminer at the Dry...
$58.00
A bright and light golden straw colour is a good introduction to this energetic wine. Instantly the grapefruit and lemon tart aromas...
$59.00
I often look at our young Riesling to see a firm and apprehensive character. The 2019 is less so; the...
$59.00
Similar to the 2019 Riesling, the 2020 vintage is also approachable as a young wine. The early season heat summation...
$68.00
The latter part of the 2018 vintage was an excellent period for Botrytis bunch selection. When Botrytis fungus is present at...
$59.00
The fantastic vintage allowed us to let the grapes mature slowly on the vine until they were ready to pick...
$86.00
The heat summation and distribution for 2017 was similar to 2013, quite spectacular. However, the impact of the 2017 rain...
$72.00
Our Pinot gris vines are amongst the oldest planted at Dry River – the majority was planted in 1979 making...
$72.00
Let this pear flesh-coloured wine take you on a journey. If you are not familiar with Pinot Gris, be surprised...
$113.00
In the glass the colour is crimson with a plum purple rim. Along with many typical Dry River characters we...
$113.00
The 2017 growing conditions were nearly identical to the 2014 vintage, in numbers. The flowering conditions were sub-optimal, which caused...
