Vineyards
Marlborough's Wairau valley lies east to west and enjoys a cool maritime climate, with wonderful long clear sunny days, which are especially evident during the autumn ripening period.
These long, hot, sunny days are balanced by cool nights, lenghtening the ripening process and in turn intensifying the flavours in the grapes and the subsequent wines.
It is the large difference in the diurnal temperatures that is believed to make Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc unlike any other in the world.
Lawson's Dry Hills grapes are harvested from a number of vineyard sites right across the spectrum of soil types, ranging from light stony soils to heavy loams, including quite a large proportion of clay-based soils. This diversity of vineyard sites helps us produce a range of wines of exceptional complexity.
Our viticulture and vineyard management focus is on producing the flavours, concentration and balance desired in the finished wines.
Our cool climate means we need to limit crop levels and control the vineyard canopy to allow maxium fruit exposure to the sun to enable proper ripening.
Pruning is done by hand using the vertical shoot positioning system, later in the season shoot and fruit thinning are used to optimize crop levels. Leaf removal or leaf plucking is also done and allows us to increase the amount of sunlight reaching the bunches and ensures flavour development.
