KINDELI

NELSON, NEW ZEALAND

I got off the plane in Nelson (a modestly sized town at the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island) after a two-hour flight from Auckland. Alex Craighead, the winemaker and proprietor of Kindeli, picked me up. I was to spend the next two weeks working with him, learning his philosophy and techniques. As is the norm, we headed straight out to the vineyards.

organiC & holistic

After a quick dip into Marlborough to see some Sauvignon Blanc being grown for a client of his, we headed to the Upper Moutere where their winery and home vineyard are. The site is planted on Moutere Series Clay and features Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Syrah. They farm organically and opt for using sulphur, seaweed, compost, bat guano, and copper (only when absolutely necessary) to maintain the health of their vines. Between the rows you’ll find a stand of local trees, a small creek, and plenty of wild cover-crops. Plants like clover help restore nitrogen to the soil.

In the spring before veraison, the neighbour lets his flock of sheep into the vineyard; they mow the grass and eat all the leaves and shoots around the young, green grape clusters. As the grapes are extremely high in acid and low and sugar at this point, the fruit is unappetizing to the sheep. This opens up the canopy, allowing for better airflow and reduced chance of rot. It also manages vigour and brings composters directly into the vineyard. Alex and his parents also raise a small herd of cows, further adding to the biodiversity.

In addition to their own vineyard, they also purchase fruit from a couple small organic farmers around the region. Amongst these is a 45-year-old block of Pinot Noir overlooking the ocean, and a 35-year-old block of Chardonnay planted in Moutere Series Gravel.

clean winemaking

In the winery Alex is a stickler for cleanliness. He won’t even allow you to bring wine glasses from their house into the winery for fear that a rogue malicious microorganism like brettanomyces will infest the place.

He tends to be ultra-sensitive to all forms of wine flaw: brettanomyces, mouse taint, ethyl-acetate, volatile-acidity, volatile sulphur compounds, and so forth. Because of this dislike, he has come up with dozens of preventative measures that seem to be extremely effective. To avoid reduction, he gives his wines plenty of oxygen during fermentation; he even performs delestage on white wines to keep the fermentation happy. Once the must is saturated with oxygen, he usually pumps the head space of the fermentation vessel with CO2 to prevent any unwanted bacteria from forming on the cap or surface of the wine. This usually hinders acetobacter and thus prevents unwanted volatile acidity.

He creates a starter culture by crushing several buckets worth of grapes and letting them naturally ferment. By adding small amounts of this to the must he can ensure healthy and vigorous fermentations. When fermentations do struggle, or ethyl-acetate can be detected, he gives the wine a little help by submerging spent skins and stems in the wine. This provides ample nutrients for the yeast and as the must warms up, ethyl-acetate volatilizes and blows off.

At the winery you’ll find a combination of stainless steel tanks, neutral oak barrels, polyethylene vats, and amphora. Most of the grapes undergo a combination of skin fermentation, direct pressing, carbonic maceration, and so forth. Whole clusters are used when deemed appropriate although he has pulled back from previous vintages. Extended skin contact has also been scaled back in pursuit of elegance and clarity.

The finished wines are bottled exclusively by gravity (using a wickedly archaic contraption) and are corked by hand. In 2017 he converted to Noma Corks which are made from recycled bits of sugarcane. They are carbon neutral and can’t be infected with TCA or other spoilage aromas. He doesn’t add any SO2 to the wines and they are not fined nor filtered.

GROWN AND MADE ON THE TRADITIONAL LANDS OF THE: TE ATIAWA O TE WAKA-A-MĀUI | NGĀTI TAMA KI TE TAU IHU | NGĀTI KŌATA | NGĀTI TOA RANGATIRA | NGĀTI APA KI TE RĀ TŌ | NGĀTI RĀRUA | NGĀTI KUIA | RANGITĀNE O WAIRAU