Carefully harvested from the stunning sustainably farmed vineyards at Hunter’s. The fruit was pressed and allowed to settle naturally, before fermenting in stainless tanks until ready for bottling. The wine was bottled at about 14g/L sugar, which is 30% lower sugar than you would bottle a traditional sparkling wine. This means the wine is less fizzy than a regular bottle of Champagne. The sediment in the bottom are yeast lees along with a few tartrates as the juice was not cold stabilized. The wine was unsulphured at bottling so that the ferment could finish. (A small SO2 addition was used during juice handling.) It is very important to chill the wine before opening. As with all Petnats, the lees left in the bottle can create quite a lot of fizz when opened if not cold.

Orbis Moderandi marks a new era in Com munal Brands’ ongoing collaboration with Hunter’s Estate. They are one of the oldest and very best producers in New Zealand and Jane Hunter is a legend and an inspiration. For many years now, they have been the winery partner for our Otto’s Constant Dream wines. With this new venture we have allowed the imagination of young winemaker James Macdonald to run free. Petillant Natural wines use an ancient method of sparkling wine production, this method though can frequently go very wrong. It requires impeccable fruit and a real attention to detail. James and Hunter’s are the perfect partners for this offshoot of the traditional Otto’s line.