Frequently Asked Questions

Our Organic certification covers both the vineyard and the winery, from how the grapes are grown through to how the wine is made. Natural winemaking sits on top of that. It’s about how little we need to do once healthy fruit arrives. If the grapes come in clean and in good condition, there’s often very little left to add. Organic is the standard we’re certified to. Natural is the approach we bring to the winemaking itself.

Yes. Our certification covers the vineyard and the winery. In the vineyard, that means no synthetic sprays, fertilisers or herbicides. In the winery, it covers things like how we clean our tanks, how we manage pests, and any sulphur we choose to use. It’s not just about how the grapes are grown. It’s about the whole process being accountable, right through to the bottle.

We use sulphur carefully rather than avoiding it altogether. Some of our wines are made with no added sulphur; others use a small, considered amount at bottling where it genuinely helps the wine’s stability. We’d rather use a little, thoughtfully, than follow a rule for its own sake.

Not at all, it actually demands more attention, not less. Without relying on additives to fix problems, every decision matters more: when to pick, how gently to handle the fruit, how clean the winery is kept. Minimal intervention is a discipline, not a shortcut.

Central Otago is the world’s southernmost commercial wine region, with a dramatic inland climate of warm, dry summers and cold winters. That temperature swing between day and night helps grapes ripen slowly while holding onto natural acidity, which is a big part of why the region’s Pinot Noir has such distinctive depth and perfume.

Unlike most New Zealand wine regions, which sit near the coast, Central Otago is a semi-continental climate, shaped by mountains rather than the sea. That means hotter, drier summer days and much colder winters – conditions closer to parts of Central Europe than to typical Kiwi wine country.

We’re based in Lowburn, just five minutes from Cromwell, in the heart of Central Otago in New Zealand. We are surrounded by vineyards, orchards and mountains. We are around 40 minutes drive from Wānaka, 45 minutes from Queenstown (and Queenstown Airport). This means we are close to several ski fields and, more notably, some of New Zealand’s most renowned cycle trails. We are close to Cromwell’s bike trails that connect you to the Lake Dunstan Trail and the Kawaru Gorge Trail (open from Sep 2026).

We grow Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling and Gewurztraminer. Our core range features alongside smaller-batch wines like our skin-contact (orange) Riesling, sparkling wines made in the traditional method, and a light, chillable red blend. We also press our own extra virgin olive oil from the property.

Yes, our full range is available through our online shop, including our Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Dry Riesling, Amber Riesling, Rosé, sparkling wines and olive oil.

Yes, we ship nationwide. Local delivery is free, and orders elsewhere in New Zealand incur a small shipping and handling charge ($10 for urban addresses, $20 for rural). If you’re outside New Zealand, get in touch directly and we can arrange international shipping.

Yes, buying through our online shop means you’re ordering straight from us – Lucie and Brook – rather than through a third-party retailer, so you’re getting the wine as close to the source as possible.

We do. We offer private tastings, hosted by appointment, in an intimate and unhurried setting at the winery. A tasting runs for around an hour and is guided by Lucie and Brook themselves, so you’ll hear the story and philosophy behind the wines firsthand, not just tasting notes. All guests must be 18 or older, and because we’re a small working winery, bookings are essential rather than casual drop-ins.

Yes. We have two options on-site, the cosy Cottage and the intimate Loft, both set around a courtyard within the organic vineyard garden. It’s a genuinely peaceful rural setting, five minutes from Cromwell and within driving distance of four ski fields, so it works well for both a relaxed wine escape and a base for exploring the wider region. We are close to Cromwell’s lake and bike trails that connect you to the Lake Dunstan Trail and the Kawaru Gorge Trail (open from Sep 2026).

We’d recommend booking ahead where possible, particularly during the busier spring and summer months, since both tastings and accommodation are limited by our size as a small, family-run operation.

It means our vineyard is managed without synthetic sprays, fertilisers or herbicides, with regular audits to back that up. For us it’s less about a label and more about accountability – a way of proving, not just claiming, that we’re looking after the land properly.

We’ve made deliberate choices here: lightweight, partially recycled glass bottles, recyclable screwcaps, and cartons made from responsibly sourced New Zealand wood pulp with minimal tape and plastic. Where we can, we also supply wine in reusable 20-litre stainless steel kegs to hospitality venues, which cuts packaging waste altogether.

The wider property matters just as much to us. We think of ourselves as custodians of a piece of land that supports grapes, food, trees, animals and our own family – so the choices we make are about looking after all of that together, not just what ends up in the bottle.

Great wine shouldn’t come at the cost of the land it’s grown on. Making thoughtful, sometimes harder choices in the vineyard and winery is how we look after our family, our community and the people who ultimately drink our wine.

O Naturel is run by Lucie and Brook, who have spent 20 years growing wine in Central Otago. O Naturel is their own project – a chance to build something that reflects exactly how they want to grow grapes, make wine and live. You can read more about us on Our Story page.

It means we’re drawn to wines that are honest rather than polished for effect – an authentic reflection of the vintage and the site, not something dressed up. We’d rather a wine tell the truth about where it’s from than try to impress.

It’s the thread that runs through everything we do – from organic growing, to careful use of sulphur, to how we package our wine. Treading lightly means making considered choices at every stage, so that what’s good for the wine is also good for the land and the people around us.

That’s exactly what we set out to prove. We believe you don’t have to choose between staying small and making something genuinely good – in fact, staying small is often what makes the wine better, because every decision is made by hand, by people who know the land personally.