Dan and Kaylea Barker’s Moana Park wine operation bases much of its philosophy on making vegan and vegetarian friendly wines which are also low allergen, Although not claiming to be making ‘natural’ wines in the funky sense, they use natural and sustainable regimes in the vineyards and the winery, and are indeed pushing the boundaries in what they do.
The 2018 vintage sees the release of a Chardonnay Pet Nat wine, fermented to dryness in the bottle, and capped with the lees. It is the start of their sparkling wine programme which will see a Blanc de Blanc method tradtionelle with modest time on lees to be released in August or September, this followed by a Methode Traditionelle given more time on lees, to be released in 2019. 2018 also saw John Hancock working at the Moana Park winery making his ‘Hancock and Son’ wines. Of course, John and Dan couldn’t help themselves in making joint collaboration Chardonnay and Syrah.
With the 2017 vintage Dan investigated the commercialisation of Preservative Free wine as an extension of the company’s low allergen commitment. Dan is very aware of the loss of preservative qualities of SO2, but also wishes his clientele to see the fresher and purer fruit expression of these wines. So they are designed to be consumed early. The other news is that Dan has been joined by Benji Gibson in the assistant winemaker role. Young people; fresh ideas. Here, I review the 2018 Pet Nat and 2017 PF Merlot. www.moanapark.co.nz
