the wine
Hanmer Springs Wines has embraced the concept of less is more. Grapes are cropped at relatively low levels to ensure concentrated flavours and balance on the palate. Sarah has adopted traditional wine making techniques with minimal intervention. Hanmer Springs Wines also uses various maturation vessels such as ceramic eggs, stainless steel and aged oak barrels to bring texture and structure to the wines. Our wine is not fined with chemicals or filtered, instead it’s allowed to settle naturally. This means there may be some sediment in the bottom of the bottle, but ensures a more natural product. Fermentation is completed with a wild yeast starter from our vineyard. The only sulphur added is a tiny amount at bottling. It doesn’t get much more natural than that!
2020 will no doubt always be associated with the year of lockdown and the dreaded Covid. In the months leading up to harvest, NZ vineyards weren’t even sure if they would be allowed to pick their fruit or make their wine. Fortunately, the government came to the party and declared the wine industry an essential business. Harvest still came with plenty of challenges however, with the need to implement distancing and sterilising measures. Despite the harvest challenge, 2020 was a great year with settled weather and a warm, dry Autumn. Fermented and then soaked on skins for 28 days before aging in old oak barrels for 12 months, 2020 producing concentrated wine with floral notes and flavours of red berries and plum.