The two founders of Matawhero Wines, Bill Irwin and son Denis. The vineyard is celebrating 50 years of operation.
The two founders of Matawhero Wines, Bill Irwin and son Denis. The vineyard is celebrating 50 years of operation.
Matawhero Wines is using its expanding global presence to promote Gisborne as it celebrates 50 years of operation.
Owners Kirsten and Richard Searle are curating a year of local celebration while continuing to promote Matawhero’s origin story and “the uniqueness of the Gisborne region with the rest of the world”.
“Our wines are an expression of our region and the people that make them,” Kirsten Searle says in a Matawhero Wines release.
“We want more people to know about the wines and Gisborne itself. We think they’re New Zealand’s best-kept secrets.
“We’re combining our 50-year anniversary with elevating Gisborne as a wine destination and celebrating Matawhero as a standard bearer for the region.”
The Riverpoint Rd winery will celebrate its golden anniversary with a commemorative function and will also be hosting chardonnay master classes in Gisborne and other parts of New Zealand from March to June.
Searle says Matawhero is marketing and selling product in the United Kingdom, Canada, Singapore and the Cook Islands and wants to prove Gisborne’s 2% share of New Zealand’s annual wine production is no barrier to global ambitions.
The Searles bought the winery from Denis Irwin during the 2008 global financial crisis.
Described by Searle as “a trailblazer” and “the wild man of winemaking”, Irwin created the first Matawhero vintage in 1975 after the original vineyard in Riverpoint Rd was planted in the 1960s by his father, Bill.
“He [Denis Irwin]) is one of New Zealand’s original winemakers.”
The Searle family spent a lot of time with Irwin and his wife Violet, learning more about the winemaker’s early days and adventures.
The original Matawhero bottle label showcased a drawing of the 160-year-old Matawhero Church building, a design that continues to be used on its labels to this day.
In the 1970s, Matawhero gained recognition on the national and international wine stage, including the World Wine Show in Paris where it achieved fourth place for Irwin’s gewurztraminer.
Matawhero Wines owners Kirsten and Richard Searle (right) often spoke to original Matawhero winemaker, the late Denis Irwin (centre), who was keen to see another family carry on as custodians of the land, grapes and processes used to make Matawhero wine.
More recently, Matawhero received gold medals at the New Zealand International Wine Show for its 2019 Irwin Chardonnay and 2024 Single Vineyard Chenin Blanc.
The flagship Irwin Chardonnay was a special tribute to Bill and Denis because only a year after its limited release, “the first true legend of the Gisborne wine industry” [Denis] died, in March 2023.
Since buying the vineyard, Searle has established its classic cellar door as a popular destination for visitors and residents alike.
Made from stone and sitting atop the original in-ground cellar, the tasting and dining area is filled with treasures from Irwin’s early days and there is an extensive outside area for eating.
Two years ago, boutique accommodation was added to the setting.
