Respect for the Living

Dane Johns is a native New Zealander who honed his craft working for Gippsland legend Bill Downie before striking out on his own. [^102^] His pre-wine life was split between two sensory disciplines: sound engineering and coffee. As a sound engineer, Dane began with electronic music using modern digital equipment, but soon found it more satisfying to use analog gear — embracing the limitations, the rawness, the inability to fix everything in post. [^54^] That philosophy — keeping it real, accepting imperfection, working with what you have — became the backbone of his winemaking.

Dane's 20 years in the coffee industry had an equally profound impact. Roasting and making coffee for some of Melbourne's top importers and roasters trained his nose and palate to understand and recognise balance at a granular level. [^54^] He learned how different aromas and flavours interact, how acidity and body harmonise, and how the smallest variable can shift the entire profile. When he turned to wine, that sensory training became his superpower. Dane never fails to work his magic with blending grapes, making wines that are full of idiosyncratic and aromatic characteristics. [^54^]

Hannah Johns is Dane's partner in every sense — in life, in farming, and in the cellar. Together they established Momento Mori as a project rooted in respect: respect for the land, respect for the fruit, and respect for the drinker. They are not corporate winemakers; they are artisans who believe that the best wine is the one that needs the least intervention. Their children — River and Rata — are part of the story too, growing up among vines and fermenters in the Gippsland hills. [^59^]

Momento Mori's cellar practices are as minimal as their farming. All wines are hand-made using small ferments, wild yeast, no oak, and no winemaking additions. [^59^] This is not a slight exaggeration or a marketing angle — it is the literal reality of their production. No cultured yeasts. No enzymes. No tannins. No acid adjustments. No fining. No filtration. In some cuvées, a tiny spray of sulfur is added before bottling; in others, even that is omitted. [^54^] [^72^]

The absence of oak is particularly notable. Dane believes that oak masks the true character of the fruit, adding flavours that do not belong. Instead, all wines are raised in stainless steel — preserving purity, freshness, and transparency. [^59^] No mechanical pumps are used; everything is moved by gravity or hand. [^72^] Fermentations are small, allowing for precise control and individual expression. The result is a range of wines that taste of nothing but grapes, soil, and time.

Dane's blending skill is where his coffee background truly shines. Knowing well how different aromas and flavours work, he crafts blends that are greater than the sum of their parts. [^54^] Staring at the Sun — a blend of Fiano, Vermentino, and Moscato Giallo — is a perfect example: three Italian varieties that complement and elevate each other, creating a wine of remarkable complexity and aromatic breadth. [^83^] Rack & Ruin — 70% Ribolla Giallo (made as an orange wine) blended with 30% Nero d'Avola — is another unlikely friendship that proves the whole can be much greater than its parts. [^65^]

The style is unmistakable: vibrant, alive, idiosyncratic. These are wines that demand attention — not because they are loud, but because they are honest. They do not pander to commercial expectations. They do not taste like anything else on the Australian market. They are, as Dane and Hannah describe them, "full of character, freshness, purity, and above all, alive." [^54^]