Kindeli is the singular project of Alex Craighead, one of New Zealand's most exciting natural winemakers, working in near-total isolation in the hills of Nelson.
Backstory
Craighead established Kindeli in 2016, building a small cellar in Upper Moutere on the northwest of the South Island. Working largely on his own has let him focus intensely on his craft and develop a winemaking voice that is entirely his own.
The Region
Kindeli is based in Nelson, around Upper Moutere, where the distinctive Moutere clays sit alongside gravel and silt, giving the wines their backbone and texture.
Vineyards & Farming
Alex farms about eleven hectares across four owned and leased vineyards, planted to ten varieties including Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Syrah. Farming is organic, and each spring before veraison a flock of sheep is brought in to mow the grass and strip leaves around the young clusters, improving airflow and reducing rot.
Winemaking
The wines are zero-additive, made with indigenous yeasts, without added sulfur, and neither fined nor filtered. Craighead works across stainless steel, neutral oak, polyethylene vats, and amphora, drawing on skin fermentation, direct pressing, and carbonic maceration as each lot demands.
The Wines
The range includes the Blanco, Tinto, and Naranja bottlings among others, fresh, transparent expressions of Nelson fruit made with as little intervention as possible.
