Outside the Box
Our Winemaking Style
We both had a traditional winemaking upbringing, and its influence runs through everything we do. We say less is more – others might call it non-interventionist winemaking.
What it really means is that if the vineyard delivers ripe, balanced, clean fruit, the winemaker can largely step aside.
It sounds simple, but it is arguably the hardest form of winemaking – it means watching, waiting, and resisting.
There are catalogues of additives and processes available to us. But sitting on your hands takes experience, trust, and patience. Luckily, this is something Will is very good at – knowing, as he puts it, exactly when to panic.
We make our wines in a shared winery alongside other winemakers. We have total control of our own process, but working in close company brings something we value deeply
– camaraderie, ever-present sounding boards for new ideas,
and shared skillsets. For a small operation like ours, that community matters more than most people might realise. Winemaking can be a solitary pursuit, and we don't take the company lightly.
Our winemaking style is slow and deliberate. We use the phrase 'guiding our wines' to describe our attitude – it gives us time to watch, think and respond in a way that suits both the variety and the vintage.
Whole bunch is becoming a defining signature of our wines. We are still playing with the ratio of stems to skins – probably a lifelong journey – but we can now clearly see what a whole bunch contribution brings: texture, structure, and a fragrance and perfume that is quietly intoxicating.
Pressing Matters
We have a love affair with our basket press.
Ours is a modern version with a traditional wooden basket – beautiful to look at and perfectly suited to small batch winemaking.
We can control the pressure ourselves, pressing gently and very slowly to avoid extracting harsh tannins from the skins and seeds. It takes forever to press a tonne of grapes, but the result is worth every minute of waiting around after 10pm at night for it to finish.
The basket press is used for all our wines with the exception of Rosé, which is pressed using a pneumatic press – better suited to preserving the fresh, delicate style we're looking for.
By The Light Of The Moon
Not everyone believes in the effect of the full moon on wine, but we do – and years of experience have taught us why.
When the sun and moon align, their combined gravitational pull is at its strongest – particularly on liquids. We have found that this extends to wine in barrel.
Every month, on the full moon, we stir the lees – the natural yeast sediment that settles in the barrel – back into suspension in our Chardonnay barrels. The gravitational pull helps keep them there longer than normal stirring would allow – and over consecutive months, the wines become softer, rounder,
more complete.
Lees stirring is not new – it is a cornerstone of biodynamic winemaking. Doing it by the moon is our way of letting nature do more of the work.
Cork & Wax Are Our Choice
A cork and wax closure embodies how we feel about wine. To us, our wines are not just a flavoured beverage – they are a product that has been intensely cared about from grape to bottle. In every sense of the word, our wines are truly handmade. To close each bottle in cork, allowing for the slow ingress of oxygen over time, and then seal it by hand – mostly Will's – with wax, feels entirely appropriate.
We love the idea that in this instant world a person actually has to slow down, locate a corkscrew, and carefully remove the wax and cork. That ritual provides a moment to pause, to enjoy the wine you have chosen, and to savour it with the people you care about.
By Hand
The soul of what we do at Novum comes from being close to it – seeing firsthand how the grapes respond to the season, watching the ferment move in the tank, tucking lateral canes, hand picking, plunging.
These are the quiet joys of making wine, and they
allow us to respond intuitively to the nature that surrounds us.
We understand and embrace technology where it genuinely helps. But wine, in its truest form, is a creative endeavour, and creativity is best felt up close – by hand.
