Dry River winemaker Ant Mackenzie is looking forward to having his palate and mind expanded by renowned chef Tetsuya Wakuda. Photo / Hawke's Bay Today
Why did you become a winemaker?
I figured out early winemaking was going to be a job I would never get bored of because it calls on many different skills and the playing field changes every year. It is also a job of maximising small percentages of quality towards an
ideal; I like the idea of always striving for something that is just out of reach. That's the challenge of working with the finest wines.
Explain your winemaking philosophy?
It's very simple; growing the grapes is the most important part. Finding the site, choosing the vines and waiting for the vine age is where the work, luck and hopefully inspiration is. If it all comes together, as it has at Dry River, the winemaking philosophy is to preserve everything that is good about that grape, that site, that region in a bottle of wine. Nature and time do the work; as a winemaker I'm only involved for a small window of the life of a vineyard and a wine.
What makes your wines unique?
Dry River wines are created to deliver pleasure beyond a couple of years in the cellar. Most New Zealand wines are simple "flavour" wines; Dry River wines evolve layers of interest as the years go buy. This approach is not uncommon in the old world.
The way we achieve this is by conservative winemaking that seeks to maximise the "'good stuff" so as to set the wine up to evolve over time. This approach is almost like looking after yourself when you are young, so you can age gracefully with all the benefits that maturity brings.
I'm at the bottle store - which of your wines should I buy for dinner tonight?
Possibly a Dry River gewurztraminer or Dry River viognier, both wines are seductive in their youth. Having said that, your best chance of finding these wines is probably not at the bottle store.
