Pioneering Winegrowers in Gisborne, New Zealand
Wrights Vineyard and Winery, producing premium organic wines from Gisborne, New Zealand. Pioneering Winegrowers in Gisborne, New Zealand
Meet the people behind Wrights Vineyard and Winery, and find out what makes them so unique and special. They take great pride in looking after the land for the next generation.
For more information on grape growing, grafting, biodynamics and organic wines visit wrightswines.co.nz.
Matawhero Wines
Matawhero Wines was founded in Gisborne New Zealand in 1968. Today the story continues with the drive and passion of Kirsten & Richard Searle, who purchased the property in 2008 - and have continued to develop the iconic winery and share the distinctive wine styles of the Gisborne region.
Weekend of Wine and Food Gisborne
A NEW format for Gisborne’s Weekend of Wine and Food won the thumbs-up from wineries and punters at the weekend but has challenges to overcome. Event organiser Prue Younger said overall everyone was very happy but there were definitely issues with transportation and getting the new concept across the line.
Instead of having the event at one venue, as it has been in the past few years, organisers went to a two-day traditional “cellar door” event over Labour Weekend. Issues with the buses were directly related to last-minute ticket buying — a few hundred extra tickets were sold on Sunday morning, she said. “It is just so difficult to manage the logistics when people do not buy tickets until the day of the event.” Saturday, which was a wet, cooler day, saw about 400 people taking part and that number doubled on Sunday when the sun came out. There were two bus lines — one out to Ormond, including Makaraka, and the other to Matawhero, Manutuke and Muriwai. “We didn’t really know how people were going to move on Saturday and had a few problems getting them around, so resolved that for Sunday and put extra buses on. “Then the bulk of the people went on the Matawhero line, so it was hard to shift people around.” All in all, the event has been hailed a success. Police had only a couple of minor incidents to deal with over the two days. A wide age range attended and notably many from the older demographic. “This was our target market and 35 to 40 percent of people were from out of town. Tickets sold all over the country between Dunedin and Auckland.” Auckland couple Sarah and Phillip Knight attended on Sunday for the first time and said they would definitely be back. “We have had a wonderful day. We couldn’t get to many places but where we did go has been amazing. Lovely food and great wines. The district should be proud of what it has to offer,” said Mr Knight.
A Hawke’s Bay couple also loved the event. They said better marketing in their district would draw a lot more people. Ms Younger said the aim was to have a completely new and different event, and spread the wine and food experience of the district over two days. This meant at the individual venues there were fewer people and they had the infrastructure to cope. Winemaker Geoff Wright from Wrights Vineyard and Winery said it was great to have the wine and food weekend back at the cellar door in a different format. “It gave local and outside people the chance to experience our cellar doors. The wineries all offered something unique and it was more of a wine and food experience than ever before.” They ended up having about the same number of people each day, with Saturday more intimate and indoors because of the wet weather. The Colosseum took part in the event on Sunday only and featured five wineries — Garagiste, Hihi Wines, Stone Bridge Wines, 747 Trading and Cognoscenti. Colosseum food included whitebait fritters and venison sausages. Transportation problems meant this and neighbouring wineries turned into popular venues and Hihi Wines’ Andy Nimmo said it was almost too popular. “We almost ran out of food and got low on wine and beer supplies. “Our music — DJ Lincoln Wright doing vinyl appreciation — fitted in perfectly and we were really pleased with the atmosphere. Patrons had a good time and were well behaved.”Down the road was Matawhero Wines and next door Poverty Bay Wines’ Bridge Estate — both were also well received. Millton Vineyard and Winery held a private Cornerstones of Taste Long Lunch for 120 people. The menu was provided by Auckland restaurant Cazador, which specialises in wild foods. “It was an exceptional lunch with an incredible bunch of peope.
Filmed and Edited by
Ben Cowper
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Gisborne Pinot Gris
In this episode I taste 2 Pinot Gris from Gisborne. New Zealand Pinot Gris had a dramatic rise in popularity in the mid 2000's but has once again been equalled by Chardonnay.
I taste Coopers Creek Pinot Gris 2008 and also Matawhero Pinot Gris 2011
Bushmere & Matawhero wineries, New Zealand
Bushmere Estate is 100% family owned by Egan family. They have been growing grapes for over 40 years. During this time there have been huge changes in the industry, from the growing of bulk grapes to the quality world class wines that are now attributed to the Gisborne area. The vineyard is 17 hectares in the Central Valley Region of Gisborne District, growing mainly Chardonnay grapes, along with smaller plantings of Gewurztraminer, Viognier , Pinot Gris, Montepulciano and Sangrovese. The name Bushmere Estate was chosen as the area was referred to as ‘Bushmere’ on old maps of the district. The Bushmere logo represents the three elements vital to the growing of grapes – earth, water and sun.
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Established in 1968 by the late William (Bill) N. Irwin, the Matawhero vineyards originally supplied contract grapes for local wineries. Bill was literally the father of modern viticulture in New Zealand and it was his drive and determination that lead to the importation of new grape varieties.
Denis Irwin set up the Matawhero Wine label in the mid-1970s using a small part of the grapes his father Bill grew and sold to other Gisborne wineries.
Success followed quickly with both Gewürztraminer and Chardonnay wines attracting national and international attention. The 1977 Matawhero Gewürztraminer achieved fourth in a wine show in Paris – an astonishing achievement at the time for a new world wine. The 1978 vintage of even higher standard; everyone was drinking it including the Queen.
Sometimes austere, sometimes flamboyant often requiring some experience of life and wine to understand his produce; Matawhero Wines were a realistic reflection of Denis the person. As Denis says himself, “In a world reading Woman’s Weekly, I was doing Emerson.”
Denis’ last Matawhero labelled vintage was in 1999. He has since retired from the winery operation on the Matawhero Estate and is now running the Colosseum, a bar and function centre just a stone’s-throw from the Matawhero vineyards, he still taps into his cellared stock. We hear that the 1999 Matawhero Chardonnay is still drinking well!
Kirsten Searle introduces Matawhero wines
Kirsten introduces us to her range of Matawhero wines from Gisborne.
PGG Wrightson Stud Tour - Ep. 10 - Paparata Station Romneys
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Gisborne Wine Awards
An insight into the passion our winemakers have for their products and the opinions our best critics had to offer..
#GigaTownGisborne..
Jak takes us through our range of Matawhero wines
Jak Jakicevich, owner and managing director of Glengarry, talks about Matawhero wines from Gisborne.
Complexity preview of the Gisborne wine region New Zealand
Does Lorkin Like It? Matawhero Irwin Gisborne’s Chardonnay 2017
Yvonne Lorkin reviews new wines
Poverty Bay Show ‘epic’
THE pop-up-fairground, the bagpipes and the car-boot buffets . . . the 2014 Poverty Bay A&P Show was once again a festive mix of attractions from the familiar to the new. “It was epic,” says Show association manager Derek Allan. “We had the regular displays and events and a range of new attractions such as the House and Garden expo. “The expo proved very popular and bodes well for the future.”
Attendance numbers were up on last year’s 19,027 and overall the Show went very well. Among the perennial events were the pet lamb, goat and calf parade. Dressed lambs featured a pirate lamb, two bat-lambs, an armed and dangerous lamb, and several princesses. The Gisborne Herald Farmyard was as popular as ever and featured exotics such as an aquarium of red-eared turtles who stared at their neighbours — a clutch of fluffy turkey chicks. In a carpeted cage, a pile of polydactal (multi-toed) Maine coon kittens snoozed in one corner while across the way, a pen of otherwise excitable children were calmed by rabbits. Stu Potter, author of Gisborne-based children’s book The Fish Story, and illustrator Miri Britain ran a stall in the house and garden section. There was a lot of interest in the book, said Ms Britain. “Many people knew about it before the Show. We had good feedback and sold a few copies.”
The blacksmith’s red-brick veneered caravan was parked in its usual place nearby while further up the track the ground thudded with restored pumps and British-made work-horses such as Taranaki man Alf Christian’s one-third scale traction engine. Marc Bolland, originally from Warwickshire, England, recalled using two similar stationary engines to draw a plough up by rope up and down the field. The avenues of displays in the trade park were particularly busy. The Tourism Eastland tent saw a steady stream of visitors all day, said sales and marketing assistant Nicole Breingan. “A lot of people are coming in to vote for the Out East photo competition. They are loving it, and we are launching our new visitor guide here. We have had plenty of takers. More people have come through than last year.” New events in the main arena included a dramatised rescue of car-crash victims. “I got a request from SADD — Students Against Dangerous Driving — to see if there was something if they could do,” says Mr Allan. “As soon as they got involved, all the emergency services were behind it.” In the dramatisation, a scythe-wielding Grim Reaper was thwarted as St John’s medics resuscitated one crash victim while firemen used the Jaws of Life to cut open the crushed car and remove another victim. The ECT rescue helicopter swooped in to take the stabilised patients to hospital. Meanwhile, police dog-handlers set an enthusiastic German Shepherd on the trail of the runaway driver. The padded driver tried to bolt but was taken down by the police dog, cuffed and led away. Other new events included bucking ram rides and a bareback donkey race. Commentator Neville Clark accompanied the chaos with non-stop comedic banter. “We are really proud to have him here,” says Mr Allan.“You could take him anywhere in New Zealand and he would be a hit.”
Filmed and Edited by
Ben Cowper
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PGG Wrightson Stud Tour - Ep. 13 - Tangihau Station Angus
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Matawhero Chardonnay and Siri
Jayson Bryant and Siri taste Matawhero Chardonnay from Gisborne New Zealand. Gisborne has suffered at the hands of Pernod Ricard but is gradually repositioning itself as a Chardonnay powerhouse.
DC and Eru jamming
29 April 2012
Darryn and Eru, entertaining at Matawhero Wines, Gisborne
Mellow music session... Nice!
Marisco Vineyards, The King's Thorn Pinot Gris 2013, New Zealand, wine review
Every Sunday Tom Cannavan of wine-pages.com chooses a new wine of the week. For 28th June 2015 the Marisco Vineyards, The King's Thorn Pinot Gris 2013, from Marlborough in New Zealand is his Wine of the Week. The trickle of Pinot Gris wines coming to us from New Zealand has turned into a steady stream, this from winemaker Brent Maris being a very elegant example. It opens with delicate scents of
blossom, honey and summer orchards, before the palate delivers a medium-bodied and crisp fruitiness that, despite a touch of residual sugar just to add a little charm, is focused on taut apple and
citrus, a soft sheen of spice and almond from a little oak component too.
Aurum Wines Cromwell Central Otago
Created on April 2, 2012 using FlipShare.
OPPOSITE SEX . gisborne NZ . january 2011.
OPPOSITE SEX .
live from PEEL STREET practise space. GISBORNE .late january 2011 .
OPPOSITE SEX are :: LUCY-bass/voice. TIM-drums/voice. FERGUS-guitar
filmed by arron
Tohu Gisborne Chardonnay
Tohu Winemaker Bruce Taylor provides some insight on the making of our Tohu Gisborne Chardonnay.
Wine Tasting with Foodies at Onyx Cambridge
Matawhero Wines and Onyx of Cambridge partnered up during Culinary Cambridge week to host an evening of wine tasting with foodies and Picture Show stopped in for a few courses.