Unkel
Your New Zealand Family
Quick facts:
Location: Tasman, Upper Moutere, South Island of New Zealand
Owner & winemaker: Rob and Kate Burley
Vineyard area: 5 hectares (= 12 acres) in long-term rental + a small amount of purchased organic grapes
Vineyard management: awaiting organic certification. Dry-farmed
Soil: “Moutere clay” i.e. clay-bound gravels from a former riverbed
Main varieties: Riesling, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay
Annual production (approx.): 25,000 bottles
Winemaking: directly pressed whole bunches / skin fermentations for whites, often whole bunches for the reds. Spontaneous fermentation only, no filtration, no fining, a little SO2 at bottling.
Fun facts:
- The name Unkel, a deliberately misspelled German word, symbolizes Rob & Kate’s winemaking philosophy because an “uncle has a lighter influence on a kid’s education than a father would have, as our winemaking has on our wine”, they say
- Rob and Kate are high-school sweethearts originally from New Zealand’s North Island who traveled and worked in different parts of the world together (such as the renowned Terroir wine bar in London)
- The first time Rob made wine under their own label was while working for the Australian legends Pat Sullivan and Bill Downie near Melbourne
- In 2019, they decided to head back home to really settle down and found a perfect spot with a healthy vineyard to lease in the understated Nelson area of NZ’s South Island
- The couple are neighbors and friends with Yuki Nakano, winemaker of Kunoh wines, which we also import – a great 2 in 1 discovery for us!
“I was drawn into the winemaking world by my obsession with how things smell – I was even considering perfumes, but in the end, winemaking won,” Rob Burley laughs about his start in the wine industry. Accompanied by his high-school sweetheart turned wife Kate, the energetic New Zealander started an exciting odyssey that eventually led them back to the land they love. Their first globetrotting steps led from their native Tauranga to Australia, where Rob finished his winemaking degree and started working for big wineries, which “nearly drained the passion out of me. Luckily, a friend introduced me to wines of people like Saša Radikon or Jean-Francois Ganevat back then,” Rob recalls.
Happy to delve deeper into this re-found world of scents and flavors, the couple went overseas – traveling around Eastern Europe and helping harvest in the Loire Valley before ending up in Terroirs, a natural wine lovers’ den in central London. Fun fact: he found this job through the famous wine writer Jancis Robinson, to whom Rob “tentatively reached out”. Although working in the highly popular wine bar eventually made him realize that “working in hospo isn’t really my thing”, the gig made him meet Patrick Sullivan, which eventually led to the couple returning back to Australia and Rob back to winemaking in 2015.
The Burleys spent the following three years in Melbourne, with Rob working full-time for the natural wine stars Pat Sullivan and Bill Downie while making his own wine on the side – Unkel’s baby steps. “Being so close to Melbs’ vibrant food scene was a good way to start a brand, but I was kind of buying fruit from many different places and didn’t really like that. In the end, we felt the need to go back to New Zealand and start farming our own fruit, in a land that we feel way more connected and emotionally attached to,” they explain.
After a bit of searching for a spot to settle in, the couple got a tip about a vineyard block to lease in Bronte, South Island, from their friend Alex Craighead, the owner and winemaker of Kindeli, a famous winery nearby. “I think we really found a sweet spot here. You’ve got natural parks, walks, lakes, skiing, beaches with even a little bit of surf at your doorstep,” Rob smiles and, having briefly visited this incredibly picturesque and sunny piece of land next to the Abel Tasman National Park that has it all, we can’t but jealously agree.
“Not that we have a lot of time for it though, with our little son and mainly the vineyard,” Rob chuckles. Oh yes, the vineyard: besides being a great lifestyle choice, the Moutere area is also quite a gem wine-wise, especially in the upper part where the Burleys are. “You get cold nights and a bit more gravel in the soil compared to the lower parts, meaning more acidity and finesse in the wine, which is exactly what we were looking for,” Rob nods. There is an important, moderating maritime influence and enough sun and rain at the right times, and, quite importantly for a young starting family (both Rob and Kate are in their early 30s), the region is not (yet) in the limelight, meaning they could find a vineyard to lease for an affordable price.
Hence, since the 2020 vintage, Rob’s dream of farming their own fruit has come true: he’s now proudly taking care of 5 hectares of 25-year-old dry-farmed organic vines on a gentle north-facing slope. Once in the winery, “rather than being that hands-on, overbearing, parent or father figure, you can think of us more like that cruisy, fun, slightly wild Uncle in your life.
The ‘Unkel’ who will let you learn life lessons the hard but far more interesting and fun way, and only intervenes when totally necessary,” Rob explains the philosophy behind both their minimalist approach and brand name. The resulting wines are bursting with life, bright acidity, and energy that speak of their honest farming. They’re just as colorful as their joyful names and the eye-candy labels created by the couple’s friend suggest; an irresistible combo we couldn’t but introduce to the thirsty natural wine lovers stateside.
With one’s dream fulfilled, what does the future hold? “Oh, we’re only getting started,” Rob laughs. “I’m fine-tuning how to be an even better farmer, with things like under-vine management, etc. We’ll release a new Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from our home block, more sophisticated, and longer-aged than our current wines. I re-grafted a small plot of Chenin Blanc so can’t wait to see what this brings. See, there’s still a lot to learn. We’re definitely not just happy with where we’re at!”
Wines
- Juno Riesling
- Atlas Pinot Noir
- Rising Sun Skin Contact Pinot Gris
- In My Mind
- Life on Mars
- Jurassic
- Life’s a Beach
- La De Da
- Starlight
Juno Riesling
Winemakers’ note: “Juno is energetic, playful, focused and sassy. If you’re familiar with this wine’s four-legged namesake, you’ll see the resemblance.” (Successor of the After Party Riesling)
Grapes: Riesling
Vineyard: 25+year-old vines on clay and gravel, organic and dry-farmed
Making of: the grapes were hand-picked, stomped, and left on skins overnight before being pressed into a stainless steel tank. Blended before bottling in the following spring, bottled unfined, unfiltered, and with light sulfur addition.
Personality: Lemon pith, white peach, sherbet, and floral aromatics. Clean, acid-driven Riesling with a textural finish.
Atlas Pinot Noir
Grapes: Pinot Noir (multi-clone)
Making of: Manual harvest. Individual blocks were vinified separately – some classic maceration, some as whole bunches – and blended a couple of months prior to bottling. Unfined, unfiltered, and with light sulfur addition.
Personality: “Bright, aromatic fruit paired with savory spice from the plots fermented with whole bunches. This theme very much follows on to the palate. Soft, structured tannin and bright acidity with plush fruit and earthy notes,” Kate describes.
Rising Sun Skin Contact
Grapes: Pinot Gris
Vineyard: 25-year-old vines on clay and gravel, organic and dry-farmed
Making of: the grapes were hand-picked, then 85% de-stemmed and skin-fermented for 5 days, 15% underwent carbonic maceration for 2 weeks. The musts were then blended and matured in stainless steel until next spring. Bottled unfined, unfiltered, and with light sulfur addition.
Personality: “walks the line between being fun and breezy as well as being serious and structured. Deep peach in color, light berry fruits with a hint of orange zest, this wine drinks the way you’d expect one would when you cross your crazy, wild Uncle and your more refined one.”
In My Mind
Rob & Kate on this wine: “A mash-up of two vinous stalwarts. Whilst not your conventional blend, there is a reason it is becoming more ubiquitous in the wine world. Grab a bottle and take a glimpse into my mind.”
Grapes: 60% Pinot Gris (2/15 & Mission clone), 40% Pinot Noir (Clone 6)
Vineyard: 25-year-old vines on clay and gravel, organic and dry-farmed
Making of: the grapes were hand-picked, destemmed, and co-fermented in a tank. Pressed after 2 weeks into 3⁄4 stainless steel, 1⁄4 old puncheon. Bottled in the following spring, unfined, unfiltered, and with light sulfur addition.
Personality: what a successful marriage! Light ruby red in color with light raspberry and cherry aromatics that burst onto the palate. A tightly wound ball of jujube fruit and light tannin that finishes in a delicate blend of dried herbs and raspberry
undertones.
Life on Mars
Rob & Kate on this wine: “Forget the status quo and don’t think too much about this wine’s components…this just works. Whether you’re stranded in a desert, sinking your toes into the sand, or sitting in front of a fire, the varietal make-up of this wine bridges the gap between the conventional and “new world” thinking.”
Grapes: Pinot Gris (2/15 & Mission clone), Chardonnay, Riesling
Vineyard: 25-year-old vines on clay and gravel, organic and dry-farmed
Making of: the grapes were hand-picked. The Pinot Gris was stomped overnight and pressed to stainless. The Chardonnay was directly pressed to an old barrique. The Riesling was stomped overnight and fermented in old barrique. Bottled in the following spring, unfined, unfiltered, and with light sulfur addition.
Personality: “grapefruit and tropical aromas intertwined with a lick of sea breeze. The palate is a textural twist of tropical and slightly riper stone fruits crossed with a dry, mouth-filling touch of botanicals.”
Jurrasic
Rob & Kate on this wine: “This Pinot blend is a lighter, more fruit-forward style than many. When the sun dips into the horizon, it’s time to rip out the sundowners! Aimed at those looking for red-ish wine for warm weather imbibing: look no further.”
Grapes: 60% Pinot Noir (multi-clonal) and 40% Pinot Gris
Making of: manual harvest, spontaneously fermented and aged in 5-year-old puncheons for 6 months. Bottled in the following spring, unfined, unfiltered, and with light sulfur addition.
Personality: Soft plum-like fruit with a slightly more weighted palate.
2020
Grapes: Pinot Noir (clone 777)
Vineyard: 25-year-old vines on clay and gravel, organic and dry-farmed
Making of: the grapes were hand-picked. 100% destemmed and fermented in stainless steel tank for 2 weeks before being pressed back to tank. Bottled in the following spring, unfined, unfiltered, and with light sulfur addition.
Personality: light in weight but with a burst of raspberries and a bright drive of acidity. Zippity sippity sip!
Life’s a Beach Orange 
Aromatic, breezy skin-contact white inspired by the ultimate-relaxation feeling of listening to the waves on your favorite beach spot.
Grapes: Pinot Gris, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay & a splash of Pinot Noir
Vineyard: 25+ years old vines on clay and gravel, organic and dry-farmed
Making of: A blend of both direct-pressed white, skin-fermented white (on their skins for 7 days, about 50% of the blend) and a splash of Pinot Noir. Aged for 6 months in 5-year-old puncheons. Bottled in the following spring, unfined, unfiltered, and with light sulfur addition.
Personality: a light, aromatic and textural orange wine. Gentle, mouthwatering phenolics wrapped around a hit of peaches and cream, orange rind, stewed red apple and nectarine – you won’t stop sipping on it.
LaDeDa
Grapes: A blend of Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc & Pinot Gris
Making of: hand harvest. The grapes were all directly pressed to 5-year-old puncheons and aged for 6 months. Bottled in the following spring, unfined, unfiltered, and with light sulfur addition.
Personality: “A bridge between a heavier rose and a light red. La De Da has been made for the warmer months and we think it’s best served chilled,” Rob and Kate of Unkel say.
Starlight
Grapes: A blend of Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris & Riesling
Making of: hand harvest, aged in 5-year-old barriques for 9 months. Bottled unfined, unfiltered, with light sulfur addition.
Personality: “deep ruby in color with a burst of tart raspberry and cream on the palate. Light, bright and moreish, perfect for the warmer months.”