Lawson’s Dry Hills

LAWSON’S DRY HILLS COMPANY SUMMARY

Launched in 1992, we now produce 140,000 cases a year with markets in Europe, Asia, Canada and the US. Sauvignon Blanc is our flagship, but we also produce Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, Riesling and Pinot Noir. We have access to 130 hectares throughout Marlborough’s sub-regions, half of which we own, and half are long term lease or under contract.

We are a small, hands-on team of 18 people. We’re fully autonomous we have our own harvester and bottling line. Whilst this is unusual for a company our size, it is important to us not to rely on third parties – we want accountability and responsibility. This gives us control as well as the ability to manage our environmental footprint.

We joined Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand at its inception but felt we could do more, so we adopted ISO14001.

ISO is the world’s largest and most recognized, independent standardization body. 14001 provides an environmental management system for companies to improve their environmental performance through more efficient use of resources and reduction of waste. It is a holistic approach covering everything from the vineyards to the port of shipping and emphasizes continual improvement.

We first achieved independent certification for ISO14001 in 2011 undergoing annual audits by Telarc, New Zealand’s leading business certification body for internationally recognized standards.

The next step was to become carbon zero. ISO14064 specifies the principles and requirements for measuring, reporting and offsetting greenhouse gas emissions. We achieved this standard in early 2020 becoming a Toitū net carbon zero certified producer.