Matawhero was started in Gisborne by the late Bill Irwin in the 1960s, hhe was one of the first to import the Mendoza clone of Chardonnay and was considered the father of modern NZ viticulture. Continued by his son Denis, they rapidly gained international attention in the 1970s, even Buckingham palace was drinking them. To celebrate the Irwin family legacy, Matawhero is launching a new premium Chardonnay, the 2016 IRWIN. Produced from low yielding baby Mendoza on the famous Tietjen vineyard, this is a new icon in the long heritage of Gisborne. It has been made by another icon of NZ Chardonnay, Kim who has been making award-winning Chardonnays from this site for over 20 years. He and owner Kirsten Searle, will be presenting the IRWIN, along with a vertical of older Chardonnays from Matawhero library stock, to show the origins and lineage of the wine.