50 years of inspired vision behind New Zealand’s best kept secret 24 February 2025
PIONEERING winery Matawhero Wines is leveraging its expanding global presence to promote Gisborne to international consumers as it celebrates 50 years of operation in 2025.
Owners Kirsten and Richard Searle are curating a year of local celebration while continuing to share 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,” says Kirsten Searle. “We want more people to know about the wines and Gisborne itself. We think they’re New Zealand’s best kept secrets.”
Searle says Matawhero wants to prove that Gisborne’s two percent share of New Zealand’s annual wine production is no barrier to global ambitions. Proudly crafting wine in the world’s most easterly vine-producing region, Matawhero is marketing and selling product in the United Kingdom, Canada, Singapore, and the Cook Islands.
“We’re combining our 50-year anniversary with elevating Gisborne as a wine destination and celebrating Matawhero as a standard-bearer for the region.”
Origin story
Matawhero has been a trailblazer in the region’s industry since the wild man of winemaking, Denis Irwin, created the first Matawhero vintage in 1975.
“He is one of New Zealand’s original winemakers,” says Searle, who along with her family spent a lot of time with Denis and his wife Violet learning more about the winemaker’s early days and adventures.
The original vineyard on Riverpoint Rd was planted in the sixties by Denis’s father, Bill Irwin. He planted grapes at a time when everyone else was raising livestock or growing maize on the Poverty Bay flats.
While Bill supplied contract grapes to local wineries, his son Denis worked in wineries in South Africa and Germany to gain experience. In 1975, Denis produced the first wines under the Matawhero label. The iconic bottle label showcases a drawing of the 160-year-old nearby Matawhero Church building, a design that continues to be used on bottle labels to this day.
In 1976, Matawhero gained international recognition at the World Wine Show in Paris when it achieved fourth place for its Gewürztraminer. Other awards followed, even a letter from Queen Elizabeth II thanking Denis for wine he sent to Buckingham Palace.
As the oldest cellar door in the region, Matawhero has weathered one change of ownership, at least two cyclones, and three droughts.
Passing the baton
In 2008, during the global recession, the Searle family purchased Matawhero. Denis said he was pleased to see the vineyard remain as a family business rather than being swallowed up by larger companies. “It was like handing over the baton,” he told The Gisborne Herald at sale time.
The Searles moved from their original vineyard on Brunton Road to live at Matawhero. Young and full of energy for the region, passionate vintner Kirsten Searle took the helm. While raising three children on the property, Searle re-established the classic cellar door to become a much-loved destination. Made from stone and sitting atop the original inground cellar, the tasting and dining area is filled with treasures from Denis’s early days, and outside areas for eating.
Two years ago, boutique accommodation was added to the setting. Searle has been pleased with the response. “Guests wake up to a view of the vines in the heart of Tairāwhiti and are always delighted. It serves as a reminder to us of the uniqueness of this location.”
Renowned New Zealand wine maker Kim Crawford has played a role in guiding Matawhero’s winemaking. Crawford’s expertise in making and growing wines in the region, combined with the winery’s dry-farming techniques, has led to numerous accolades. Recently, two wines were awarded gold medals at the New Zealand International Wine Show: one for the 2019 Irwin Chardonnay in 2022, and another for the 2024 Single Vineyard Chenin Blanc.
The flagship Irwin Chardonnay was a special tribute to Bill and Denis. Just one year after its limited release, the first true legend of the Gisborne wine industry, Denis Irwin, passed away.
Celebrating 50 years
In the next chapter of the Matawhero story, in 2024, Searle was awarded the Bill Irwin Memorial Trophy by Gisborne wine growers for her contribution to the local wine industry.
Searle says “Denis and his father Bill were New Zealand wine industry pioneers and shaped our local and national wine industry. It feels appropriate to continue their passion and I was humbled to receive the trophy.”
This year, Matawhero will celebrate its gold anniversary with a commemorative function. In addition, they will be hosting Chardonnay Master Classes in Gisborne and throughout New Zealand from March to June. In May, Matawhero will release its first 50th anniversary wine, a Gewürztraminer, a varietal that Matawhero has always been famous for.
“This birthday year we look forward to sharing our story with locals and the rest of the world.”
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