Responsible Hedonist 'Pop A Wheelie' White Hawke's Bay 2022 750ml

NEW ZEALAND : NORTH ISLAND : HAWKE'S BAY

ORGANIC : Chardonnay

MED-BODIED, APPLE, PEAR, CITRUS, WHITE FLOWER, NO OAK

Two Chicago sommeliers — Diana Hawkins and Frank Lepera — relocated to New Zealand in 2017 so Diana could complete a Master's in Wine Science at the University of Auckland. They landed in Hawke's Bay and never left. The region earns the attention: warm days, cool Pacific nights, and mountain-shielded growing seasons that preserve acidity naturally — a place where unoaked Chardonnay doesn't need engineering to taste complete.

Pop a Wheelie is native yeast, stainless steel, low sulfur — and nothing else. Early-pick fruit from the Bridge Pa Triangle's clay and loam soils comes in with acidity intact; wild fermentation adds texture without weight. The 2022 ran to 60 cases. Apple and pear up front, citrus driving the palate, white flowers on the nose — the profile that normally requires an expensive Burgundy address, from a two-person operation making fewer than 6,000 bottles a year total. Pour this for the customer who says they don't like Chardonnay.

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