Huntress wines
Jannine is the winemaker behind Huntress wines an independent label based in the Wairarapa. As well as making wines, she is literally a hunter.
She describes this passion as “Hunting is more than a pursuit; it is a way to honour the land and the delicate balance that sustains it.”
A thoughtful and intriguing character - we caught up with her this week to find out the stories behind some of the wines. A range of which are available from Glengarry - including a Pet Nat made with the Matiti collective.
Let’s start with the Matiti collective. Can you just talk me through that?
Yeah, I was a speaker, at the Organic Conference in 2023 in Blenheim. And so was Dr. Jessica Hutchings, who with her wife, Joe, have the Papawhakaritorito Trust. There is a farm over the Rimutaka Hill - an organic and biodynamic property which I s a beautiful place to be, where they’ve been farming under the Parakore verification system since 2011.
She's an educator and an advocate for seed sovereignty and organics and no GMO. She speaks around the world on indigenous food knowledge, and was quite involved with the establishment of Hua Parakore verification. So, Hua is of a product and Parakore means pure. Hua Parakore verification is run under a group called Te Waka Kai Ora. Mum and I have enrolled our property here, which is 1.4 hectares - in terms of learning to grow kai and flowers, through an indigenous lens.
So, the Matiti collective. There is Jessica and Joe, Richelle from Greywacke, Mariana Te Rangi, Timmy Smith and myself. Richelle is a winemaker. Mariana is a researcher around bush and forest health in Waikato. Timmy is a tea and beverage expert from Waiheke. We came together and brought our energy and ideas around what we could do.
And you’ve released a wine from that?
Alistair from Grava was at the organic conference too, and he said to Jess that he’d be really keen to do something to bring more diversity to their farming because wine growing is obviously quite a monoculture. So that was our starting point and we were planning to release a Pet Nat in the same year of production. We ended up disgorging it in the February of 2025 and releasing it in spring last year.
The label imagery is in line with the Huntress labels, and it depicts the Tohu or signs that you would have traditionally been indicators of a change of the season. Mariana has amazing knowledge around this. Traditionally, there were 2 seasons - summer and winter - and there's phases throughout each. The summer phases tend to go from spring till the end of autumn. So really coincide for me in thinking with the grape seeds, from growth to production.
If you look at the label, you've got the shining cuckoo, which I can connect to through my years of learning to hunt. I hear it in the bush when I'm out there stalking. Its song changes through the spring. So towards the end of spring, it's really much more elongated. It used to be a sign of when to plant your kumara. There’s a hell of a lot of knowledge in the collective, which is quite exciting for me, as someone who loves food and nature.
Was there any particular process that you used for it?
Well, I really didn't want to make cloudy, faulty Pet Nat. I wanted something that was going to be pure and express the fruit. It was a very slow ferment. I think we went over winter knowing that it was going to be a delayed release. I just sent it to Vilaura wines in Hawke’s Bay to get riddled and disgorged. There's just the faint, faint sort of yeasty cloudiness. So it doesn't have that big sludge and that last glass isn't ruined. I don't enjoy drinking lees. Like, I think lees are amazing protective element for wine and give texture… but I don't really want to have a glass of it, you know.
How has living in different places or doing a range of work influenced you over the years?
I think with a background of hospitality from a young age, then moving into something that's quite creative and seasonal, they sort of interlink for me. Manaakitanga is a massive part of who I am, and how I live. So that was kind of an easy aspect for me - I can really relate to that. When I've been down to the Hau Ariki Marae in Martinborough, to help out in the kitchen, I just love that space, and how everyone just pulls together and provides for whoever's there.
I get a sense that community is important to you. The feeling of community.
Definitely. And I think that's why I've really enjoyed making wines in different regions. I have lived in all those regions and I have made a really good network of people who I value and want to stay connected to. It's been an amazing couple of years for me to be able to have that freedom, to be creative. I needed this last couple of years to really re-centre myself, I guess. Seems like this year is going insanely fast.
What do you hope people experience when they taste your wine? You know, that what sort of connection are you are you hoping for beyond just ‘oh, this is delicious’?
It's more working with the organic growers, obviously. To expand the thinking around how we farm organically and maybe there's another model. Maybe there's a way where we can do a bit more, more than even biodynamics. There is one aspect of Hua Parakore which is the spiritual connection to the whenua, and how we nurture that soil, and how it provides back. Maybe a bit deeper than even biogro organics.
I've certainly heard talk around developing something that was more New Zealand centric. Taking biodynamics and looking at it through a through a kiwi lens. Is that the sort of thing that you think people could understand better?
Yeah, I think so. I think biodynamics is a great farming method or farming philosophy. And it's all about connection, right? You are really in tune to what you're doing. And it's quite thoughtful. And I think that we do have this knowledge that is appropriate to the whenua of Aotearoa and that we can bring in our own knowledge and learnings around that. Really, for me, the biggest point is being a woman and being quite connected to the cycle of the moon. Trying to understand that a bit more, and work in a way that fits with my energies.
Are you finding that is starting to guide your day-to-day decision making then?
Yeah, a little bit - I've always done that for a long time with bottling and work, but I'm trying to bring it into my daily life as well. I know what weeks I've got more energy and capacity to do more. And other weeks that I need to make sure I rest. I'm making sure that I'm looking after myself, to be able to do everything that I'm committed to, the best I can.
What's the most memorable feedback you've had from somebody after they’ve had your wine?
I think what I loved most was the spring release. We did it during organic wine week of Matiti, at a friend's wool shed in Greytown. And we had this beautiful celebration of the wine as we released it. And I got to speak to the wine and the energy of the wine, and I could see people's eyes light up. I think that was the most fulfilling event I've done with wine and that energy reflected in the people. Wine is not an alcoholic beverage that you get messed up on. It is a season and a community that is expressed in that bottle and it's a living, evolving thing.
How important do you think that that kind of telling that story is? Because I'm not sure that the majority get that.
I think it is quite important. Especially with the way the wine industry is at the moment. lt feels like there's a lot of negativity around alcohol in general, but I do think that the energy that you transfer into a bottle can be felt. If the wine is made with intention and effort and in a thoughtful way, I think that it can be expressed through the enjoyment of it. And I think most wine is made like that.
What do you think handmade wines offer that mass produced ones can't?
Organic wine, for me, has always tasted miles better. Miles and miles. Way better than commercially farmed wine. I've seen it. Worked in vineyards that do both, and I'm just a firm believer. That’s why Huntress is just working with organic fruit now. And that's another reason why I've expanded into Hawke’s Bay and doing other little things because there's not enough organic grapes grown here. But in Hawke’s Bay, there seems to be a bit more.
Are there different skills involved in making wine that has that personality and character?
As you'll know, it's mostly made in the vineyard, right? If you've got enough attention to detail and you're getting things done - bringing the best quality fruit that you can, from a season into the winery, the rest is pretty simple. It's more caretaking. I was thinking, I've got a couple of new releases coming out in spring - a new Chenin and a Chardonnay and they’re all made in a similar way. It's basically getting amazing fruit and juice into a barrel and letting it do full ferment and malo in its own. And nurturing it, topping it, tasting it. And then doing very little. If I can avoid filtration and only add a small amount of sulphur to hold the wine in place a little bit, and knock out any undesirables. Pretty simple stuff.
Has that approach changed over time?
I still like to trial. The Waikoa is quite fun and creative and there's partial whole bunch and more of an infusion of bunch into a fermenting juice and that. So, I still like to play, but I guess I was very fortunate that I could have the opportunity to do a lot of playing at Urlar with some of the wines that we made.
Experimentation - is that key to your way forward?
Yeah, and also just accumulated knowledge - I've been doing it for over a couple of decades now. The seasons you learn the most from are the ones that are more challenging. You never have the same season in a row, but you learn from each one. If you accumulate all that knowledge and you have a wide community that's supportive and you can talk openly about these things, then you're going to have a chance at making a great wine from it.
Have you ever created something that surprised even you?
It was probably one of my last non-organic wines. It was a bit more of a challenge and that's one reason why I went to just organic fruit! Some of those tricky seasons like 2014 in North Canterbury and 2005 in Martinborough - those seasons come to mind. The wines looked gnarly for the longest time. But then you open a bottle 10, 15 years later and it's like, ‘oh my god, that's bloody delicious’.
I don't want to make the same wine. I want to showcase the season, but also have a creative lens to it - push the boundaries a little bit. 2023 was super challenging, and I hadn't worked with Syrah for years. The decision over whole bunch, and how much to add, was really daunting because it was not a hot season - it was Gabrielle.
And for a while there, I was really unsure around how much whole bunch I'd put in, and whether it was too much. But then I got a brilliant review from Mike Bennie - he bloody loved it. And now the 2024, which is the same vineyard and the same amount of whole bunch, but completely different. Beautiful perfume, lovely spice, and it's going so well for me - I'm fascinated by Syrah.
Do costs affect what you choose to do? Like, barrels, the price of organic fruit…?
It hasn't yet. Again, I think the importance of having community around you for support. Just those relationships that I've formed over a couple of decades. I feel quite grateful for people who are generally willing to help if they can, and uplift you, and feed you. I don't take shortcuts as such. I try work within my budgets, but there is obviously a lot to consider there. The logistics - because last year I made wine in 3 regions in 4 different wineries. I’d like to have a home for Huntress again, which I'm working on.
I mean, that sounds challenging to me. What, part of your process towards getting a product out, do you find the most challenging?
What I'm struggling with at the moment is the cost of living crisis. It is really impacting direct customer sales. You send an EDM out and then nobody buys a case. If you really want to support small business, buy direct. I like that there's certain bottle shops that are independent that I really rate and love - and I'm happy to have my wines in those venues. Obviously, I'm stoked that Glengarry have taken on some wine.
What's the favourite varietal you're working with at the moment?
Obviously, I'm living in Wairarapa, and I love Martinborough Pinot. But the last couple of years I've given myself to freedom to explore working with Hawke’s Bay varietals. I managed to get a bit of Chenin Blanc and Albariño for 2 years in a row and I'll be releasing the first of those in August. So, I'm really loving the textual whites.
Are those from Two Terraces vineyard?
Yes, they’re great growers - the last two seasons I've been working with Two Terraces Syrah, and some Syrah from a vineyard in the Bridge Pa triangle - Troy and Karen at Herringbone. They're both beautiful vineyards to be working with. I think of Kate Radburnd, for example, and her Syrah is a blend of two vineyards; and I can see now that it is maybe a sensible idea because they both give different elements to the wine.
Do you see yourself expanding beyond ‘Jannine the winemaker’ into something else? Do you see a future where that is just a part of what you're doing?
I love food and I've been working in hospitality since I was 14. From luxury foods, to fine dining, to high-end resorts. I've kind of kept my fingers in there as I started journeying into wine. I enjoy that buzz that you get from a great service or feeding people, welcoming people. It's a positive experience and I'm so passionate about food - knowing where it comes from, and growing my own. I've loved being in the kitchen and being able to share that manaakitanga… that generosity of abundance.
Glengarry have a range of wines made by Jannine - read our thoughts on a few below, and follow this link to browse and buy.
The bouquet is built around bright citrus and lush stone fruit aromas. Finely poised between racy acidity and creamy texture, the palate also has a tickle of fruit tannin. It manages to be both an elegant and succulent expression.
A fine mousse of bubbles heralds this very clean, fresh and zesty Pet Nat. The genre can lean into sweeter styles, but this one is quite dry. A touch of yeasty complexity before the lime, apple and mandarin fruits sweep in. Tight acidity and bags of energy as it bounces off the tastebuds.
There’s plenty of spice and floral lift to the perfume here. It mixes with blackberry and plum fruits, peat and peppercorn on the nose. The palate echoes the aromas, with a smart line of acidity swooping the flavours into a cushion of plush texture.
