The core range is built around drinkability, wines that people reach for a second glass of, says Mercer. “The style is fruit driven, delicately balanced and reliably gluggable… Fresh, balanced, punchy on your palate – wines that stand out in a line-up.”
A Hunter Valley native, Mercer has a Bachelor of Environmental Science from the University of Newcastle and a Diploma of Oenology from the University of Adelaide. He has worked extensively locally as well as vintages in South Australia, Beechworth, France, Canada, Germany and the USA. He is also a Wine Australia 2022 Future Leaders graduate. Today, Mercer and his young family call the Hunter home.
“This is our home, the place we grew up and learned to make wine,” Mercer says. “Although we are really into travel and new experiences, we value this region for our kids and the future of wine in NSW and Australia. The Hunter is a hive of comradery, and Mercer Wines would never have been possible without the generosity of local winemakers and founding families. There’s lots of activity here, with tourism, sustainable innovation and new generation winemakers starting up.”
“The style is fruit driven, delicately balanced and reliably gluggable… Fresh, balanced, punchy on your palate – wines that stand out in a line-up.”
It was in 2019 that Mercer first made wines that would appear under his eponymous label, with those dual degrees having equal weight on his approach. “My interest and love of wine has always been about quality and region, so by starting a new label I’ve really been able to combine my studies of winemaking and environmental science to focus on varieties that will still be growing in 20 or 30 years from now.”
Mercer has sustainability as a core pillar of his business, working with certified sustainable vineyards across New South Wales and often working with emerging varieties that are suited to an ever-changing climate. That suitability is built on sustainable principles, too, with climate-apt vines requiring less water and other inputs, while the traditional varieties are sourced from sites they’re ideally suited to and have adapted to.
“Our mission is to not only work with sustainably certified growers, but to uphold environmental integrity in every aspect of our business,” says Mercer. “From our packaging to our transport footprint, our environmental impact is continually assessed and re-examined for ways to improve methods.”
The stable of wine also includes a sulphur-free range, crossing several different lines from white through rosé and red, rather than the one-off cuvée that others often make. “Making quality preservative free wine is no easy task; it’s not like traditional winemaking,” says Mercer. “We follow the fruit meticulously from the vineyard to the bottle to ensure fruit preservation and as little oxidation as possible. We’re happy to see a wine that connects with the needs of consumers as well as taste great at an affordable price point.”
All the wines are also vegan-friendly, with no animal-protein agents used when processing. “Our wines use innovative fining techniques, which employ plant-based proteins,” says Mercer. “This is something consumers might not be aware of when drinking wine, but we feel this is important and easy to achieve while preserving flavour.”
Sourcing grapes from across NSW has both benefits and challenges, Mercer notes. “As a new brand, we are lucky to be nimble and forward thinking in our selection of grapes, as our products can change according to what each vintage brings us. We continue close relationships with growers to continually improve the quality of the grapes and ensure viability for generations to come – this is key to our brand and the future of farming.”
But that flexibility and diversity also makes for a very long vintage, with the Hunter fruit starting to come off in January and the cooler sites coming in through April and into May. “We had our third baby at the beginning of the 2022 vintage,” says Mercer. “And I definitely don’t recommend a newborn and a grape harvest at the same time! We received grapes for 100 days that year.”
Mercer says that the decision to pick earlier and earlier each vintage to preserve acidity for freshness and natural stability along with an increasing focus on emerging varieties has helped drive the house style. “Often, we release wines early because this fresh style of wines is of interest to consumers and creates better economical sustainability.
“We envision Mercer Wines to become both a favourite wine to share for moments of celebrations and a welcoming venue to visit in the Hunter Valley. Our wines will always adapt according to the vintage, but we’ll continue to do traditional varieties with a twist and emerging varieties with sustainability at front of mind.”
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