Dry River Chardonnay

Dry River Chardonnay is a barrel-aged white wine made by Dry River with the Chardonnay variety in the Martinborough denomination in Wellington, New Zealand.

The Dry River winery was founded in 1979 in Martinborough. Named by its founders Neil and Dawn McCallum after one of South Wairarapa’s earliest sheep stations, this is an iconic winery that produces quality wines with a natural cork stopper, which is unusual for New Zealand wines.

Dry River Chardonnay comes from old vines of low yield. One of the first vineyards planted in Martinborough, they are cultivated using organic farming methods without any pesticides, insecticides or fungicides. The harvest is carried out manually at the optimum point of ripeness.

In the winery, the grapes selected to make the Dry River Chardonnay are destemmed and gently pressed. The resulting must ferments in stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature and then spends a few months on its lees in oak barrels. Finally, it is filtered and clarified before bottling.

Considered one of the best wines in New Zealand, Dry River Chardonnay is the result of a blend of two vineyards at this New Zealand winery to create a balanced wine with wonderfully balanced minerality and acidity.