'Bel Canto' Dry Riesling, Pegasus Bay

With its large diurnal range and long lingering autumns, North Canterbury is an ideal playground for Riesling, and Bel Canto is a perfect example of this. This wine is part of the reserve series, which is only made in exceptional years. After an extended hang time, the bunches were hand selected. The free run juice was then slowly fermented to dryness at cool temperatures to help the wine retain its vibrant fruit characters and varietal purity. At all stages, the wine was handled very carefully to help retain a little of its natural carbon dioxide. This has resulted in a small amount of spritzig, which adds extra liveliness to the wine and accentuates its freshness.