Cuisine Wine

Felton Road

Setting
Visiting the Felton Road winery is a pilgrimage for devotees. Its highly rated wines are hard to get, especially the single-block wines, for which there’s a waiting list. The winery and tasting room are in a modest, gabled building halfway up the Elms vineyard, planted in 1992. From the deck of the pocket-sized tasting room you look across vineyards and the Kawarau arm of Lake Dunstan to the Pisa Range beyond. Nearby is Felton Road’s Calvert vineyard and on a peninsula at the junction of the Kawarau and Clutha arms is the Cornish Point vineyard.

Things To Know
From these biodynamic vineyards winemaker Blair Walter makes pinot noir, riesling and chardonnay, some from single vineyards or single blocks that he says express the place rather than size or hierarchy of flavour. He has been the winemaker here since Felton Road’s first vintage in 1997 and his knowledge and understanding of the vineyards, the fruit and how to allow the wine to be the best it can, ensure impeccable wines that deserve their reputation. Because its wines sell out quickly, those on offer in the tasting room are young and will develop with more bottle age.

Our Picks
The pinot noirs must be tried, but don’t miss the restrained, minerally chardonnay or the racy riesling if they are available.

Plus
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