Kunoh Wines by Yuki Nakano

In Umami We Trust

Quick facts:

Location: Tasman, Upper Moutere, South Island of New Zealand

Owner & winemaker: Yuki Nakano

Vineyard area: 3 ha (= 7 acres) in long-term rental + some fruit purchased from like-minded friends

Vineyard management: practicing or certified organic / biodynamic

Soil: clay-bound gravels

Main varieties: Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Viognier, Gewurztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah

Annual production (approx.): 9,000 bottles

Winemaking: directly pressed whole bunches / skin fermentations for whites, often whole bunches for the reds. Spontaneous fermentation only, no filtration, no fining, (almost) no added SO2.

 

Fun facts:

  • Yuki is a former sommelier from Kyoto’s fine dining restaurants, which still shows in his immense focus on how wine works on the palate
  • He’s very fastidious about all aspects of wine, including his own palate – so much so that he eats only Japanese food, which according to him allows him to keep his tasting skills in top form.
  • Kunoh is a family name from his mother’s side, with only six people still carrying it in all of Japan, and Yuki has decided to keep it alive in the name of his wine
  • Before moving to New Zealand (where he works as assistant winemaker for Kindeli Wines), he’s made a couple of vintages in Japan and the Barossa Valley in Australia
  • Yuki is a big jazz music lover, with a collection of over 10 guitars, and is also a semi-professional dart and tennis player.

 

Jump to wines | Kunoh Wines Website

 

Most natural winemakers will tell you they make wines that they themselves like to drink; Yuki-san, revealing the former rigorous sommelier still residing inside him, makes wines that he’d like to pair. “Wine has a long history of walking hand in hand with great food cultures of the world, traditionally with the Western ones that are very rich in butter, oil, and meat. But my culture is different. When I was working as a somm in Kyoto fine dining restaurants, I’d sometimes have difficulty finding the perfect wine for pairing… so I ended up trying to make them as I’d like them to match,” he says about the philosophy behind his cute flower-dotted labels, which are created by his friend, a Japanese artist named Sacco. 

It’s true that traditional Japanese meals don’t need much oil; they try to honor the unique personality and quality of raw materials, masking them as little as possible. An analogy with natural winemaking can be drawn here, as nothing is taken or added like nearly all the wines carrying the name Kunoh, a rare surname coming from Yuki’s maternal grandfather, which the winemaker has let live on in the name of his wine.

Yuki’s native Kansai region is famous for its tasty food – it’s a stronghold of dashi stock and umami flavors, and you can definitely taste this in his wines as well. From the very first bottle of his pet-nat bought out of curiosity in a Sydney wine store to the barrel samples tasted from his wine thief, we followed a red thread of fine-tuned aromatic intensity and a pure yet bold savory kick of idiosyncratic energy. Produced in boutique quantities (about 8,000 bottles in total), it’s not easy to get a hold of them; so far, Yuki’s New Zealand wines are only exported to four countries. We’re quite happy that, thanks to our discovery, the US gets to be the fifth one, as these bottles really show some singular talent and personality.

“My family eats only fish, I can’t eat raw vegetables… All this makes my palate quite unique, which is why I can probably make something different and bring a new Japanese taste perspective into the wine world,” Yuki nods matter-of-factly. He has an unparalleled focus on palate, manifested for example in his habit of explaining how exactly the wine flavors work on the tongue, using the palm of his hand as a model. He cares so much about his own tastebuds that he’s sticking to Japanese food even in his new New Zealand home, claiming that the rich or spicy dishes of other cuisines could alternate his sense of taste too much. Such a degree of dedication and discipline is quite unusual (at least for us in the West, I guess), and tremendously enriching to witness. Just like Yuki’s cooking: spending a weekend with him was an indulgent crash-course on the nuanced world of saltiness, from algae to miso and koji salt fermented by a Japanese couple who have settled in a nearby town.

The same precision and amount of thought apply to his wines as well. Although not formally trained as a winemaker, Yuki has a fair command of microbiological and chemical processes and their consequences in wine, which is quickly obvious during our sampling tour in the cellar. He only uses barrels that have previously hosted white wine (“the red ones have a higher risk of brett”), chases oxygen by using CO2 at bottling and opting for Nomacorc or crown cap closure. He knows exactly how much of which wine went into a given blend and why, or which steps to take to avoid the nettley character that people tend to associate with New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and that he – not surprisingly – detests.

The thirst for knowledge was actually the very root of his shift from sommelier to winemaker: “I visited many Italian wineries around Piemonte in 2014, including Gaja, which in particular was so impressive that it made me think I needed a winemaking experience in order to be a world-class sommelier,” he recalls. It turned out to be life-changing: his 2015 internship at the Poggio Scalette Chianti estate showed him “how wonderful and pure wine can be, and I decided to become a winemaker instead.” 

After working at Smallfry, a renowned biodynamic winery in the Barossa Valley, Australia, where he also made a couple of vintages of his own label, Yuki moved to Tasman, the beautiful northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island, his current home. He’s a full-time assistant winemaker/grower at the Kindeli estate there, and he also takes care of three hectares of organic vines from which his own wine is born. When not working in this sun-laden vineyard, or enjoying the famed beaches of the nearby Abel Tasman National Park (much recommended; since then, a beach mat has been our number one spot to seal the deal with a natural winemaker), Yuki spends some time in Japan, overseeing wine production for friends and his own brand there. 

Impressive CV? Very much so, especially being only roughly 30. Almost as impressive as the fact that this guy can wear clip-on sunglasses and still look cool. Must be something in the strict Japanese diet…

 

 Wines


Calluna

Varieties: 48% Pinot Gris, 48% Riesling, 4% Viognier

Winemaking: 100% whole bunch pressed, co-fermented in stainless steel, where it spent further 10 months on lees. Bottled without filtration, fining, or sulfur.

Personality: adult lemonade! Clean, sharp, with a lil’ fizz and acidity for days, greatly balanced by the round, grapefruit peel mouthfeel and salty touch. Can we get a straw and a life-long supply, please?


Narcissus

Varieties: the 2021 blend is 50% Viognier, 40% Sauvignon Blanc, 10% Pinot Noir clairet

Winemaking: the grapes are hand-harvested and vinified separately. Viognier and Sauvignon blanc are barrel fermented and aged in barrels for 6 months, and then in steel for 3 months, total of 9 months. The Pinot noir part is direct pressed (blanc de noirs) and added to the blend. No filtration, fining and no additives.

Personality: Honeysuckle, brioche, a touch of mead, round and nicely concentrated, with fresh finish: you’ll love staring at your reflection on the surface of this wine.


Summer Snowflake

Varieties: 65% Gewurztraminer, 20% Pinot Gris, 10% Riesling, 5% Viognier

Winemaking: 28 days of skin-contact for the Gewurztraminer and Viognier, then blended with the whole-bunch pressed PG & Riesling juice. Fermented and aged in stainless steel for freshness, for 10 months. Bottled without filtration, fining, or sulfur.

Personality: Like walking through a tangerine orchard, with kiwis chirping about the perks of the oh so rare skillfully conducted Gewurztraminer maceration. (The kiwis actually emit a rather unpleasant shriek but we don’t mind as long as we have this wine.) 


Gerbera

Varieties: the 2021 is 90% Pinot Noir, 10% Viognier

Winemaking: manual harvest. Coferment of direct-press Pinot Noir juice and Viognier on skins for 10 days. Pressed and aged in steel for 9 months. No filtration, no fining and no additives.

Personality: focused & feisty amber wine. Dry tannins, tight grip with a hint of the unfolding Viognier playfulness. Yuki-san says this wine is made for aging, which is definitely true, we’re just not sure if we’ll have the patience to wait.


Alstroemeria

Varieties: the 2021 is 95% Pinot Noir, 5% Viognier

Making of: manual harvest. The blend consists of Pinot noir on skins for 5 days (50%), Carbonic Maceration of Pinot Noir (30%) and Co-fermented Pinot Noir Rosé and Viognier skins, macerated together for 7 days (remaining 20%). Pressed and aged in steel for 9 months. No filtration, no fining and no additives.

Personality: aromatic, lush and pleasant light red.

 

2020: 100% Pinot Noir

Winemaking: two-thirds of the grapes spent 14 days on skins, and one-third 5 days also with stalks. Pressed and aged in old oak 10 months. Bottled without filtration, fining, or sulfur.

Personality: Hello Pinot! The fruity nose gave you away. Yeah, the dry tannins in the mouth as well. C’mon, let’s enjoy this lip-smacking barberry finish of yours all together now.


Convallaria

Varieties: Pinot Noir (97% clone 667 and 3% clone 115)

Winemaking: The majority of the grapes are fermented as crushed whole bunches skin ferment for 20 days, 3% undergo carbonic maceration for 5 days and 2% spend 10 days on skins. Pressed, blended, aged in old oak barrels for 9 months. Bottled without filtration, fining, or sulfur.

Personality: like if Alstroemeria grew up a bit, went to a good school, and started to think about maybe moving to Burgundy? Refined, tannic, spicy with a promising future.


Freesia

Varieties: Syrah

Winemaking: half of the grapes underwent 4 days of carbonic maceration, half classical maceration on skins. Co-fermented and aged in stainless steel tank for freshness, for 10 months. Bottled without filtration, or fining; 15ppm of sulfur added.

Personality: when tasted with Yuki-san as a barrel sample, the working title for this wine was “French actress”, because of some label-related story. We still like to think of this chuggable, light-bodied Syrah as Brigitte Bardot about to take out her tropéziennes and jump joyfully in the water.


Sunflower Rosé Pétillant

Grapes: 95% Pinot Noir, 5% Riesling

Winemaking: 80% of the blend was whole bunch pressed and then co-fermented in stainless steel. 10% underwent carbonic maceration and 10% spent 10 days on skins. Bottled unfined, unfiltered, no sulfur added.

 


Wasurenagusa

The Japanese name of the Forget Me Not flower. “A new style of wine for me, between rosé and red. To be served well chilled and enjoy its progressive development towards room temperature – it’s not just drinkable cold “New World red wine, but more of a “food wine” that will be showing more and more of its facets as it slightly warms up in your glass.”

Grapes: 96% Pinot Noir,  4% Riesling

Making of: 40% of the blend is whole bunch pressed, co-fermented Pinot Noir and Riesling; 50% was destemmed + small part of whole bunches on skins for 10 days;  10% underwent carbonic maceration for 5 days. Aged 9 months in steel. No filtration, no fining, no additives.

 


Casablanca

Grapes: 2021 is 70% Pinot Noir, 14% Merlot, 14% Malbec, 1% Viognier, 1% Sauvignon Blanc

Making of: manual harvest. The Pinot Noir grapes spent 31 days on skins, the remaining grapes co-fermented on skins. Pressed and aged in Anfora for 9 months. No filtration, no fining and no additives.

Personality: bright corners of dark fruit! Wonderful balance between the brooding notes of ripe Morello cherries and blackberries, dry minerality and savory finish, all backed by a solid and pleasant tannic structure.

2020

Grapes: 100% Pinot Noir (75% clone 115 and 25% clone 667)

Making of: The grapes are destemmed, crushed and spend a month on skins. Aged in clay amfora for 9 months. No filtration, no fining, no additives.


Ajisai

Grapes: 60 % Sauvignon Blanc, 40 % Viognier

Making of: the grapes are hand-harvested. Part barrel fermented juice, part co-ferment of carbonic-macerated grapes, part on skins for 4 days. Pressed together and aged on lees in barrels for 6 months and then further 3 months in stainless steel tank, total 9 months. No filtration, fining and additives.

Personality: gooseberry, white peach, honeysuckle and fresh cucumber. Crisp and smooth, very pleasing and aromatic NSA white.


Kiss feat. Yuki Yashiro

Varieties: 90% Sauvignon Blanc, 10% Pinot Blanc

Winemaking: 100% whole-bunch pressed, 90% fermented in old oak barrels, and 10% steel, then aged in old oak barrels for 10 months. Bottled without filtration, or fining; 10ppm of sulfur added.

Personality: like many among us, the winemaker doesn’t enjoy the conventional taste of NZ Sauv’Blanc. The whole bunch press, barrel fermentation, and carefully chosen harvest date ensure that this one is a different animal: fresh and precise but mainly round and a bit salty. The kawaii dog label of this wine is created by Yuki’s friend, Paris-based Japanese artist Yuki Yashiro.


Table 30 feat. Yuki Yashiro

Varieties: 90% Pinot Blanc, 10% Riesling

Winemaking: Pinot Blanc juice co-fermented with Riesling skins in stainless steel, then aged in stainless steel for 10 months. Bottled without filtration, or fining; 10ppm of sulfur added.

Personality: round, with a distinct mouthfeel you can chew on while swimming through the layers of Riesling-born citrusy freshness. The label is created by Yuki’s friend, Paris-based Japanese artist Yuki Yashiro, inspired by the patrons of Parisian street cafés.