Kindeli
Kindeli is the project that Alex Craighead started in New Zealand, in the northernmost area of the South Island, together with his partner Josefina Venturino. They began in 2013 experimenting with zero added sulfites winemaking, in the Martinborough area, in the North Island, and in 2016 they purchased an organic winery in the Nelson region. The extreme synergy between the natural elements they believe in is expressed in the incredible biodiversity among the rows: wild herbs and trees of native species.
The Kindeli winery is located in Upper Moutere, within the Tasman district, just west of the town of Nelson, which lends its name to the homonymous wine region. The 14 cultivated hectares are spread over 4 different vineyards: one owned, of 4.5 hectares, and 3 rented, located on the gentle slopes overlooking Tasman Bay. The soils are quite varied, generally consisting of a combination of clays, gravel, and silt, spread at average altitudes around 100 meters above sea level and overall oriented with exposure to east. Numerous are the varieties historically used for winemaking, such as Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, Chardonnay, and Syrah, while in more recent years, old Pinot Noir vines directly overlooking the ocean have been purchased. The vines are cultivated according to organic certification and treated only with natural origin preparations: sulfur, seaweed, compost, bat guano, while the use of copper is reduced to cases of absolute necessity. During the spring season, the transhumance of sheep flocks allows for the mowing of grass and the cleaning of leaves around the young clusters, in addition to ensuring a completely organic fertilization.
Alex Craighead operates in an absolute cleanliness context in the Kindeli winery, obsessed with every form of defect in the wine: reductions are avoided by vigorously oxygenating the musts, while acetic volatility is fought with the use of CO2 covering the fermentations, which are always absolutely spontaneous. The winemaking takes place in various ways: carbonic macerations and direct pressings, with limited skin contact to preserve elegance. The production and aging involve the most varied materials, from steel to neutral oak barrels, through polyethylene tanks and terracotta amphorae. The wines are neither filtered nor clarified, are not added with sulfites, and are bottled by gravity, with corking done by hand.
Kindeli is the project that Alex Craighead started in New Zealand, in the northernmost area of the South Island, together with his partner Josefina Venturino. They began in 2013 experimenting with zero added sulfites winemaking, in the Martinborough area, in the North Island, and in 2016 they purchased an organic winery in the Nelson region. The extreme synergy between the natural elements they believe in is expressed in the incredible biodiversity among the rows: wild herbs and trees of native species.
The Kindeli winery is located in Upper Moutere, within the Tasman district, just west of the town of Nelson, which lends its name to the homonymous wine region. The 14 cultivated hectares are spread over 4 different vineyards: one owned, of 4.5 hectares, and 3 rented, located on the gentle slopes overlooking Tasman Bay. The soils are quite varied, generally consisting of a combination of clays, gravel, and silt, spread at average altitudes around 100 meters above sea level and overall oriented with exposure to east. Numerous are the varieties historically used for winemaking, such as Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, Chardonnay, and Syrah, while in more recent years, old Pinot Noir vines directly overlooking the ocean have been purchased. The vines are cultivated according to organic certification and treated only with natural origin preparations: sulfur, seaweed, compost, bat guano, while the use of copper is reduced to cases of absolute necessity. During the spring season, the transhumance of sheep flocks allows for the mowing of grass and the cleaning of leaves around the young clusters, in addition to ensuring a completely organic fertilization.
Alex Craighead operates in an absolute cleanliness context in the Kindeli winery, obsessed with every form of defect in the wine: reductions are avoided by vigorously oxygenating the musts, while acetic volatility is fought with the use of CO2 covering the fermentations, which are always absolutely spontaneous. The winemaking takes place in various ways: carbonic macerations and direct pressings, with limited skin contact to preserve elegance. The production and aging involve the most varied materials, from steel to neutral oak barrels, through polyethylene tanks and terracotta amphorae. The wines are neither filtered nor clarified, are not added with sulfites, and are bottled by gravity, with corking done by hand.
