We’re excited to let you know we’ll be opening a store in Mount Eden in a few weeks. In anticipation of this we’ve stepped up our buying, and we’re bringing you some of our delicious new finds first. This month’s box is full with those satisfying winter reds. Recipes for the ideal meals to go to each wine can be found here. We hope you enjoy this selection, and as always, please don’t hesitate to get in touch any feedback or questions - hello@bythebottle.co.nz

Organised Chaos Pet Nat 2021

Bright, jubey red fruits and juicy freshness, this is a glass of quenching fun. It's made from Pinot Noir grown on the Mangatahi Terraces by the Ngaruroro River in Hawkes Bay. It began fermentation in stainless steel tanks, and finishes in bottle.

Hayden Penny of Organised Chaos does a lovely job of summing up what he’s all about, so we think that’s best left in his words - “We work with growers that share my passion and respect for the land, the Organised Chaos wines are a fresh, vibrant, and textural expression of a modern day Hawke’s Bay”.

Fatalone Teres Primitivo 2019

It looks like something that fell out of the back of Tony Soprano’s Cadillac. The misconceptions don't end there, as this is not the full bodied red that Primitivo is known for as a variety. This is a light, bright, immediate style. It has juicy red berry aromatics, and this moorish spiced fruit pie thing going on. Its brilliance is not just its taste and great value, but also its versatility. Have it with pizza, charcuterie, lighter pastas, or simply chilled down on its own. 

Fatalone are based in Puglia, the heel of the boot of Italy, where this hot and dry climate is moderated by the ocean breeze. The estate has been certified organic for over 20 years and for over a decade has been producing wine 100% sustainably. This is achieved through organic farming and using solar power, as their most readily available renewable energy source is the warm, Southern Italian sun.  

Niepoort Drink Me Nat Cool Vermelho 1L

This 1 litre bottle of supple, friendly Portuguese red delivers plenty of bang for your buck. Made from hand picked Baga grapes, it’s made in a bright, fresh fruited style well suited to serving a little chilled.

Based along Portugal’s famed Douro River, Niepoort have been making Port since the 1840’s, purchasing their own vineyards (Quinta) in the 1980’s. Now in it’s 5th generation, brother and sister Dirk and Verena have injected youthful energy into their family estate. As well as still producing port, they also focus on making elegant, lower alcohol wines that express terroir, aided by organic and biodynamic practices. Traditional techniques are still honoured, like the use of Lagares, the circular granite troughs where fruit is foot crushed and fermented. With such a wide range of styles produced, there’s amazing drinking to be explored here.

Kakano Pinot Noir 2021

We make a lot of Pinot Noir in this country. We’re seeing more diversity of styles. Wine growers seek to express place, and how they interpret their place is what we find exciting. This wine for example, eschews the typical, fruit rich, velvety style we might associate with Central Otago. It’s more angular and we love that.

It’s Pinot that’s all about texture, chew and precise density. Aromatically it’s bright, fragrant with an underlying meatiness. Fruit from Donald van der Westhuizen’s Bendigo vineyard, that sits as high as 380 metres above sea level, is 100% whole bunch fermented and aged in old French oak barrels.

It’s easy to agree that Central Otago is an awe inspiring place, and Donald van der Westhuizen experienced just that sense of awe when he first set eyes on this Bendigo site. Armed with a masters in ecosystem ecology and post graduate study in winemaking, Donald applies both to wine growing. And from what we’ve tasted the outcome is excellent, and we’re excited to taste future releases.

Koerner Nielluccio Sangiovese 2021

This is the lighter, brighter side of Sangiovese. Aromatically it has lifted red fruits and florals. To taste it’s crunchy, energetic and very very drinkable. Australia has increasingly taken to growing Italian varieties, with their heat friendly nature, and in this case the Koerner brothers show just how suitable Sangiovese is for the Clare Valley. Nielluccio is the name for Sangiovese used in Corsica. 

Having been brought up in the Clare Valley, Damon and Jono Koerner are among new generations bringing fresh energy into traditional Australian wine regions. With the planting of a wider range of varieties, organic conversion in the vineyards, earlier picking and minimal intervention winemaking, its energy well spent.

Paritua Syrah 2020

This is outgoing, upfront Hawkes Bay Syrah. It’s got all the forward aromatics you’d expect, dark berries, plums and white pepper, with cocoa and cedar coming through. It’s velvety to taste with a bit of spice on the finish. 

Paritua has recently become fully certified organic, this country's largest single conversion in one go. Vineyards were planted in 2003 on the gravelly soils of what was the Ngaruroro River. They grow classic Hawkes Bay varieties - Chardonnay, Syrah, Cabernet and Merlot - and their dense and flavoursome expressions represent excellent value.