Under her Amoise label, Hawkes Bay-based Amy Farnsworth has steadily built one of the most recognisable ranges in the new wave of New Zealand natural wine. 

Working with organic fruit and farming with biodynamic principles (often hand-tending her own rows), Amy's intention with Amoise is to make "delicious, digestible" wines without any additions - unfined, unfiltered, and no use of sulphur. 

Amber Albariño is pretty unique to say the least - we’re not aware of anyone else pushing Albariño into skin-contact territory in New Zealand. This is, to quote the winemaker, "fruit salad wine" - delivering a kaleidoscope of passionfruit, stonefruit and fleshy citrus, followed by more complex notes of marmalade, kumquat and candied peel. It's youthful and immediate with bright acidity and supported by pithy tannins. True to the grape it's made from, the finish is salty and mouthwatering.

Winemaker's Notes

Vineyard: The exceptional Two Terraces vineyard (Mangatahi Terraces region). Ian
and Linda Quinn are conscientious and detail oriented growers, producing
outstanding quality grapes. The site is slightly higher in elevation than the rest of
Hawke’s Ba’sy vineyard areas and has distinct diurnal swings – hot days, cool nights.
This is ideal for maintaining higher levels of acidity and aromatics. They grow 5 ha of
Albarino, which is taken by eight different winemakers.

Winemaking:
Handpicked & vineyard sorted. Fruit is de-stemmed to whole berry and is
fermented on skins for nearly three & a half weeks (a skin contact white). Just light
hand plunges daily to keep the cap wet!
Indigenous vineyard yeasts are utilised in a natural vineyard starter (pied de cuve)
just as harvest starts, added to the grape must as the fermentation in the winery
begins, ensuring a healthy vineyard yeast strong ferment.
Aged in old oak puncheons ( 500L barrels) & stainless steel tank to retain freshness.