We’ve long wondered how on earth there are comparatively so little organically farmed, low intervention wines to be found in New Zealand. The country seems primed on paper for winemaking full of promise; great terroir, cold and diverse micro-climates and a general level of sensibility to the people that should by all means yield boundless excitement. Enter Tincan, the brain child of Laura Tinnelly (TIN) and Nick Candy (CAN). After many years spent working in New Zealand, Australia and travelling around the world growing and making wine they decided to settle in Nelson and start a brand. Nick is the winemaker and viticulturist, while Laura manages the marketing and back of house side of the winery as well as traveling between New Zealand and the USA for work.

Nick has spent the last 18 years slowly crafting his own philosophy about wine and vines. His winemaking journey began with a degree at Lincoln University, before he went on to work at Felton Road and Peregrine in Central Otago, Riversun nursery in Marlborough, Mcwilliams in Australia and Domaine Stephane Montez in the Rhone Valley. The call to return home to be with family became too strong and Nick decided to settle in Nelson. The 2016 Vintage was somewhat of a collaboration with good friend and likeminded winemaker Alex Craighead of Kindeli. After a successful first vintage in 2016 Nick decided to lease a small 6 ha vineyard in Nelson. Nick is a Viticulturist first and foremost and a winemaker second. He is passionate about getting the vineyards to his exacting standards through hard work and dedication. He is firmly committed to minimal intervention organic farming and his 6 ha of vineyards will be certified by the 2019 vintage. He makes minimal passes through the vines with tractor preferring to do all of his vineyard work by hand to avoid soil compaction where possible.

In the cellar he carries this same minimal intervention organic principle. He makes his wines with absolutely no additions including no sulphur and all wines are fermented from wild yeasts in the vines and cellar. He loves dividing his varietals into several techniques playing around with carbonic maceration, barrel ferments and skin maceration giving him a better understanding of his vineyards potential.

Nick & Laura have just recently released their 2017 cuvees and they are very special. The wines are some of the most distinctive and terroir driven we have seen from New Zealand and its finally great to see some exciting minimal intervention wines emerging from our closest neighbours.