Soils:
The soils of Riverby Estate were formed between 7,000 and 14,000 years ago from post-glacial deposits derived from greywacke, a sedimentary sandstone, and deposited by the Wairau River. These soils, consisting of stones, gravels, sand and silt, are very free draining with little water-holding capacity, have low organic material content and are slightly acidic. This contributes to the terrain of Riverby Estate that has come to be known as one of the world’s most suitable locations for wine growing.
Vines:
A 2.4 ha block of Riverby Estate, known as Picnic Paddock, was planted in 1990 with Sauvignon Blanc clone UCD 1 with north-south-aligned rows. The vines are trained to the Scott-Henry trellis system. Together with vine trimming and leaf plucking during the growing season, an open grapevine canopy is created with ample sunlight and wind penetration. This ensures that the fruit has the desirable Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc varietal characteristics, without too much herbaceousness. Viticulture practices are used to ensure that the yield is below 9.5 tonnes/ha, thus ensuring fruit with intense varietal flavours.
History:
Riverby Estate has been owned by the Matthews family for over one hundred years. It was first purchased in 1898 by Charles Matthews, who gave the property its name.
It has since been farmed by five generations of Matthews and in 1989 the first grapevines were planted by Simon Matthews, a wine science graduate of Charles Sturt University.
The 1999 Picnic Paddock Sauvignon Blanc was the first release under the Riverby Estate label.
Previously all the grapes produced on the property had been sold to neighbouring New Zealand wine producers.
