Spotlight: Momento Mori Winery

Living Wine: The Philosophy Behind Natural Wine Momento Mori's Cult Following

In Gippsland's rolling hills, a husband-and-wife team crafts wines that embody their deepest beliefs about life, death, and the art of living fully.

There's something profoundly moving about a winery that names itself after mortality. Momento Mori—a deliberate play on the Latin "Memento Mori" (remember that you will die)—might seem like an odd choice for a wine label, but for Dane and Hannah Johns, it perfectly encapsulates their philosophy: creating wines that celebrate and respect the living.

Nestled in the dramatic landscapes of Gippsland, Victoria, where the steep Strezelecki Ranges meet the gentler slopes beneath the Black Snake Ranges in Tonimbuk valley, Momento Mori has quietly built one of Australia's most devoted cult followings. Their secret? Wines that feel genuinely alive.

Momento Mori Vineyard

From Sound Waves to Wine Waves

Dane's journey to winemaking reads like a modern renaissance story. Twenty years in Melbourne's competitive coffee scene—roasting and blending for the city's top importers—honed his palate and nose to understand the intricate dance of aroma and flavour. But it was his earlier life as a sound engineer that perhaps most influences his winemaking philosophy today.

"I used to work with all the latest digital equipment," Dane reflects, "but I found myself drawn back to analog gear. Sure, digital gives you endless options to fix problems, but analog forces you to get it right from the start—to keep it raw and real." This same philosophy drives every decision in the Momento Mori cellar, where wild yeasts work their magic without interference, where no oak masks the fruit's voice, and where mechanical pumps never touch the wine.

Respect for the Living

Dane and Hannahs' approach to viticulture mirrors their winemaking: strictly organic, working in harmony with like-minded growers across Victoria who share their commitment to sustainable, natural farming practices. Their two vineyard sites—one perched on Gippsland's steep hills, another cradled in the Tonimbuk valley—are treated as living ecosystems rather than mere production facilities.

Every bottle tells this story. Small-batch fermentations with wild yeasts. No fining, no filtering, no additions beyond the occasional minimal sulfur spray at bottling. The result? Wines that pulse with character—idiosyncratic, aromatic, and undeniably alive.

Momento Mori Wines

The Cult of Authenticity

In an industry increasingly dominated by corporate precision and predictable flavour profiles, Momento Mori represents something increasingly rare: absolute authenticity. Their wines don't conform to market expectations or wine show standards. Instead, they express something more fundamental—the living relationship between land, grape, and maker.

"We make wines that we like to drink and share," Hannah explains, and this simple honesty resonates powerfully with their devoted following. Each cuvée is a snapshot of a specific place and time, captured without artifice and bottled with integrity.

A Philosophy in Every Glass

Perhaps what's most compelling about Momento Mori isn't just their minimal-intervention approach or their organic principles—it's their understanding that great wine is ultimately about connection. Connection to place, to process, to the people who will eventually open these bottles and share them with others.

In choosing to remember mortality, Dane and Hannah have created something immortal: wines that remind us what it means to be fully, vibrantly alive. In a world of endless options and digital fixes, they've chosen the analog path—raw, real, and utterly uncompromising.

Their tagline says it all: "Handcrafted with consideration and integrity." In every glass of Momento Mori wine, you taste exactly that—and perhaps something even more precious: respect for the living, in all its beautiful, imperfect complexity.

Momento Mori will be on tasting at Hawthorne Thursday 16th October as part of our events program showcasing Natural Wines. Click here to RSVP

Momento Mori 'Fistfull of Flowers' Orange wine

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