The story of A Thousand Gods: part one

Simon Sharpe and Lauren Keenan. A Thousand Gods Wines

The Real Review readers who have been following my reviews this year will have noticed a new name pop up in recommendations: a small winery called A Thousand Gods, from husband and wife team Simon Sharpe and Lauren Keenan. They’ve netted two gold and three silver-ribbon scores for their five 2022 wines reviewed.

The name itself is a translation of “Miladiou!”, an Occitan word used to exclaim astonishment and surprise, which is a nod to the life they had in Cahors before moving back to New Zealand.

The name itself is a translation of “Miladiou!”, an Occitan word used to exclaim astonishment and surprise, which is a nod to the life they had in Cahors before moving back to New Zealand (more on this later). They make some of the most compelling examples of new-wave New Zealand wine, are embraced by the natural wine scene and have honed their zero-zero (zero commercial yeasts and zero sulfur) style of winemaking over the past few years. I had a chance to sit down with Simon and hear about their story, which is one which marries both serendipity and conviction.

To understand A Thousand Gods, we have to go back to their roots. Lauren started working in vineyards at the age of 14; she grew up in the ‘mines, wines and people’ town of Cessnock in the Hunter Valley before heading to South Australia to study winemaking at Adelaide University in 2005.

Simon started