Momento Mori Wines
Dane and Hannah Johns of Momento Mori are the epitome of artisanal creators and their natural wine bottles reflect their overriding ethos: the “simple desire to make wines that first and foremost have respect for the living.” Momento Mori farms to very strict chemical-free principles and also implement some chemical-free & holistic practices into their work. With the level of meticulous work in the vineyard and the winery that they adhere to, one would imagine purity in every glass and these bottles deliver just that. Believe the hype!
Popular bottles which feature grapes you might not expect to see in Australia include Staring at the Sun, Etc Etc and Give Up The Ghost.
chemical-free farming, No-tech, Fine wines
You may be asking yourself, how does a winery farming just three hectares in Central and Eastern Victoria, Australia develop such a loyal, some would say cult, following around the world? Well, grab yourself a bottle and give it a try; we have a sneaking suspicion you might just be on the next Momento Mori train out of here. Dane’s background spans one as an electronic musician, a barista and then earning his stripes with Aussie wine legends Adam Marks and Bill Downie. Fast forward to now he and Hannah own three plots across Victoria and source high-quality fruit from other like-minded growers to produce some of the liveliest wines you can find in Oz.
Small scale production in beautiful Gippsland
Vinification takes place with as little intervention as possible. From pressing the juice is separated into small ferments that use wild yeasts. Only inert vessels are used and new oak is nowhere to be found during vinification or élevage, making sure there is no influence from any source other than the fruit. The wines are given all of the time they need to make the magic happen. Mechanical pumps or aggressive pump-overs are not used on the wines either, letting gravity do its thing when needed. The wines are bottled with no fining or filtering and no additions, including no S02 at any stage of winemaking.