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The Wairau Valley is on the flood plain of the Wairau River and is flanked to the north by the Richmond Ranges (where Mount Riley is the predominant mountain rising to 1,314m above sea level) and to the South by the Wither Hills. The soils in the Wairau Valley are mostly deep sedimentary gravel and silt, deposited by glacial outwash. |
New Zealand has a cool, maritime climate. Marlborough, the home of Mount Riley’s vineyards, has the highest annual sunshine hours in New Zealand (2,395 hours per year) and very low rainfall by New Zealand standards (650mm or 25in per year). The average annual temperature is cool (12.5°C or 55°F). The warm days and cool nights during the grape ripening season in Marlborough allow an extended ripening period allowing intense flavour development and excellent sugar / acid balance. 
Most of Mount Riley’s vineyards are located in the Wairau Valley region, where the Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc legacy began.