Red Hut is on a mission to shake up New Zealand wines – fed up with the ‘Savalanche’ of ubiquitous Sauvignon Blanc brands and what they refer to as “all these commercial, contrived ‘Bullshit Bays’.”
12 months in French oak lends structure and finesse to this Pinot Noir. Bottled unfiltered, the wine is pure, expressive and built to evolve gracefully over time.
Red Hut - which is named after the huts that scatter the New Zealand countryside offering hikers and adventurers shelter and safety - consists of five wines from four regions. They place an important focus is on the relatively unknown sub-regions from where they source the grapes - Red Hut doesn’t own any vineyards, but works with tried and trusted growers, looking to make quality wines that celebrate and highlight the areas where the varietals are grown.
They are confident that, by sourcing from their preferred sub-regions, small parcel modern winemaking will showcases the diversity, quality and provenance within New Zealand’s viniculture.
From a single vineyard of multiple vine clones in Lowburn, Central Otago which Ryan describes as ‘the most seductive Pinot region in New Zealand”. The sub region is notable for its combination of sunny terraces and rain free summers leading to early fruit set and prolonged ripening - culminating in beautifully expressive Pinot Noir.
Fruit is hand-harvested and destemmed without crushing, then transferred to a small 1.5-tonne open-top fermenter with 20% whole bunch inclusion. The must underwent a five-day cold soak before being gently warmed to initiate a natural fermentation. Fermentation was managed with twice-daily hand plunging over 15 days, followed by a further five-day post-ferment soak to enhance colour and structure. The wine was then pressed to French oak barriques, 25% of which were new, with the remainder being second, third, and fourth-fill barrels. Maturation took place over 12 months in barrel, and the wine was bottled unfiltered to preserve its character and integrity.
Red Hut is a partnership between long term friends and wine professionals Corey Ryan and Mike Farrugia. Barossa Valley born Australian winemaker Corey has had a long-term love affair with New Zealand wine driven by his time as chief winemaker of Villa Maria – 2003-08. He was named New Zealand Winemaker of the Year in 2007 and was a finalist for Australian Winemaker of the Year in 2016. A native New Zealander, Mike has worked in the New Zealand wine industry for decades selling worldwide and running his own import and distribution business. Both are keen bush walkers, drawn to the communal love of the outdoors and the willingness to help others that the Red Hut refuges offering shelter and safety in mountain areas represent.
They believe the Red Hut range reflects both the diversity and excellence that New Zealand wines can offer. Up against what they regard as the export of “fairly average” wines they are focused on tapping into excellent little sub regions - new discoveries of interest to the consumer, keen to explain the provenance of where they are from and why the wines taste they like they do.
Red Hut is on a mission to shake up New Zealand wines – fed up with the ‘Savalanche’ of ubiquitous Sauvignon Blanc brands and what they refer to as “all these commercial, contrived ‘Bullshit Bays’.”
12 months in French oak lends structure and finesse to this Pinot Noir. Bottled unfiltered, the wine is pure, expressive and built to evolve gracefully over time.
Red Hut - which is named after the huts that scatter the New Zealand countryside offering hikers and adventurers shelter and safety - consists of five wines from four regions. They place an important focus is on the relatively unknown sub-regions from where they source the grapes - Red Hut doesn’t own any vineyards, but works with tried and trusted growers, looking to make quality wines that celebrate and highlight the areas where the varietals are grown.
They are confident that, by sourcing from their preferred sub-regions, small parcel modern winemaking will showcases the diversity, quality and provenance within New Zealand’s viniculture.
From a single vineyard of multiple vine clones in Lowburn, Central Otago which Ryan describes as ‘the most seductive Pinot region in New Zealand”. The sub region is notable for its combination of sunny terraces and rain free summers leading to early fruit set and prolonged ripening - culminating in beautifully expressive Pinot Noir.
Fruit is hand-harvested and destemmed without crushing, then transferred to a small 1.5-tonne open-top fermenter with 20% whole bunch inclusion. The must underwent a five-day cold soak before being gently warmed to initiate a natural fermentation. Fermentation was managed with twice-daily hand plunging over 15 days, followed by a further five-day post-ferment soak to enhance colour and structure. The wine was then pressed to French oak barriques, 25% of which were new, with the remainder being second, third, and fourth-fill barrels. Maturation took place over 12 months in barrel, and the wine was bottled unfiltered to preserve its character and integrity.
Red Hut is a partnership between long term friends and wine professionals Corey Ryan and Mike Farrugia. Barossa Valley born Australian winemaker Corey has had a long-term love affair with New Zealand wine driven by his time as chief winemaker of Villa Maria – 2003-08. He was named New Zealand Winemaker of the Year in 2007 and was a finalist for Australian Winemaker of the Year in 2016. A native New Zealander, Mike has worked in the New Zealand wine industry for decades selling worldwide and running his own import and distribution business. Both are keen bush walkers, drawn to the communal love of the outdoors and the willingness to help others that the Red Hut refuges offering shelter and safety in mountain areas represent.
They believe the Red Hut range reflects both the diversity and excellence that New Zealand wines can offer. Up against what they regard as the export of “fairly average” wines they are focused on tapping into excellent little sub regions - new discoveries of interest to the consumer, keen to explain the provenance of where they are from and why the wines taste they like they do.
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