EKLEIPSIS
Low - Fi Wines, North Canterbury
Established in 2015, Ekleipsis Wines started as the side project of Jess Mavromatis. Over several vintages, it has become so much more than a side hustle, and is now the seasonal reflection of Jess’s wine making philosophy: Low-fi, without undue fiddling around, respectful and ever evolving.
Ekleipsis is the Greek word for eclipse and as the first wine was harvested on the blood moon eclipse of April 2015 it seemed fitting. Ekleipsis also translates as “abandoned” which fits Jess’s winemaking philosophy of allowing the grapes to ferment without mucking around with them, and a love of all things celestial.
WINES FROM EKLEIPSIS
Meraki Skin Contact Riesling/Gewurtztraminer 2020 - NEW OUT NOW
Rosa Skin Contact Rose 2020 - NEW OUT NOW
Meraki Skin Contact Riesling 2019 SOLD OUT
Pinot Nouveau 2018
Carbonic Pinot 2017 SOLD OUT
Swan Swan H Syrah 2017 SOLD OUT
Underwater Rose 2106 SOLD OUT
Second Skin 2016 SOLD OUT
Skin Gris 2015 SOLD OUT
Available from Maker2UCellar , Everyday Wine, Vino Fino, Caros, Point Wines, Point Chev Organic wines, and awesome restaurants like 27 Steps, Gin Gin, Moiety, and more.
ABOUT EKLEIPSIS
It started with a big harvest, a dream, and a blood moon eclipse. What could go wrong?!
An opportunity to make a barrel of wine, without any perimeters, started it all, and Ekleipsis was born.
Ekleipsis is the project of Jess Mavromatis, formed from her love of lo-fi wines. The grapes used are all managed organically from vineyards in North Canterbury. The wines are made without any unnecessary additives or treatment.
WINE
Current Release
CARBONIC PINOT
2017
Fruit from a BioGro certified Vineyard, growing on Waipara gravels along the river
terrace in sunny North Canterbury. Vinified in stainless steel tank, using carbonic
maceration to create a fresh and lively carefree style of Pinot Noir, the palate is
brimming with ripe wild cherry plum and warm baking spice. No sulphur was added to
the wine, allowing a crunchy subtle fizz and the result is low-fi living wine, to be
enjoyed for its simplicity. May be served slightly chilled or as is, at room temperature.
13.0% alc/vol 60 cases made
Vineyard – The Good Vineyard, Waipara, North Canterbury, New Zealand
Label – Chloe McCarrick (cholemccarrick.com)
PINOT NOUVEAU
2018
The 2018 Pinot Nouveau was made with fruit from two BioGro certified vineyards, one growing on Waipara gravels along the river terrace in sunny North Canterbury. The other was slightly further north on the calcareous clay soils of Omihi.
Partial carbonic maceration, one parcel of fruit was fermented as whole bunches under CO2 and wrapped tightly in an open top vessel for two weeks. Foot crushed, left for 48 hours then pressed and racked into a stainless-steel variable capacity tank to undergo partial malolactic fermentation. The second parcel of fruit was destemmed and underwent wild fermentation. After 28 days it was pressed into one very old French oak barrel and left to undergo malolactic fermentation.
MERAKI SKIN CONTACT RIESLING
Hand picked early in the season, spray free fruit was treated separately on a bin by bin basis.
Roughly half the fruit was destemmed and left to cold soak for two days before natural yeasts did their thing, allowing fermentation to happened spontaneously. Very careful hand plunging occurred once a day.
The second portion of this fruit was left as whole bunches and was tightly wrapped after CO2 was pumped in to create the best atmosphere for carbonic maceration. This ferment was checked after two weeks and then resealed again with gas for an additional week, before being foot crushed at the end of primary fermentation. Additional time for post ferment maceration before pressing. There was approximately 45 days skin contact.
Both vessels were pressed gently together before being racked into a clay amphora, stainless-steel VC and stainless-steel barrel. Here I waited patiently for malolactic fermentation before blending everything together.
The result is a clean, clear skin fermented Riesling that has a flavour profile like the peaches and cream lollies you’d get in .50c mixtures as a kid from the dairy down the road.
It has a driven salty character, and catchy phenolics that play nicely with the fresh and fruity palate.
I chose the name Meraki for this wine, because I really enjoy pushing white grapes through skin contact to see what comes out the other side. In Greek, Meraki closely means to do something with love, and I really do love making skin contact wines – I like drinking them too and I hope you do too.