Claire Rogers All about wine www.sunlive.co.nz

Hawke's Bay's Moana Park Winery is focused on the production of low allergen wines.
Basically this means it adds fewer chemicals to their wine than other wineries. And that is great news, especially for those unfortunate enough to suffer allergies, sinus issues or headaches from drinking wine.

The theory that ‘less is more' has been around for a while. Moana Park owner and winemaker Dan Barker says, 'We simply aim to grow better fruit with less chemical agents, giving a better quality product which needs less fining and manipulation in the winery, effectively letting the fruit speak for itself”.”
It's a great niche market for this small-family owned firm, as every wine in their Vineyard Tribute (Reserve) Range currently has gold medal status.
Moana Park produces low allergen wines by growing fruit under organic and sustainable practices. It is also the only commercial winery in the southern hemisphere with Vegetarian Society accreditation.
That's because it doesn't use any animal-based products like eggs, milk, gelatin or fish in the fining process. But the real biggie is that Moana Park Winery uses a gravity process where pigments simply fall to the bottom of the tank, leaving the wine naturally fined. No sugar is added to the wines. Sugar for fermentation is gained through good viticultural practice and all wines are fermented dry with the exception of the dessert wines, which retain natural residual sugar from the grapes.
Now for this week's wine – Moana Park 2008 Vineyard Tribute Syrah
This ultra-premium Syrah, from the renowned Gimblett Gravels, displays lifted notes of plum, cassis, clove and cinnamon. It has a fruit-driven style, with subtle integrated nuances from maturation in French oak barriques The wine has big structure, displaying refined and integrated tannins with complex game and spice notes.
It has garnered an impressive resume of ‘tributes' including Gold at the Royal Easter Show and 4 ½ stars from Winestate Magazine. It was rated among the Top 10 Syrah/Shiraz wines in Australasia.