Held in the 30 year old - refurbished underground cellars of Matawhero winery. A group of friends and wine industry guests were treated to a long lunch hosted by Kirsten & Richard Searle the new owners of Matawhero wines. Kirsten & Richard have successfully resurrected the label and re-opened the historic Matawhero Winery as there cellar door.

On arrival guests were greeted with a glass of Brunton Road Gewurztraminer (as they also own the Brunton Road Brand) and a Petanque ball for the sporting challenge before lunch. The prize was a magnum of vintage Matawhero Chardonnay, which was won by Ant Mackenzie. Just as lunch was being served Denis Irwin arrived to join all the guests and to add insight and more stories to the day's conversations.

The setting as you can see by the photos - was rather special, to have this type of history in Gisborne and for Kirsten and Richard to do justice in respecting the past, but also introducing a new generation. Denis Irvin took some time to look around the cellar, complete with crates of dusty old bottles of Matawhero wines from his era, and commented how pleased he is with what the Searle's have done with the label. "They have really taken it a long way. To have an occasion like this after 30 years is incredible".

The menu for the long lunch consisted of a four-course meal, each carefully matched with a wine to suit; blue cheese souffle with Gewurztraminer, yellow fin tuna with Arneis, Duck confit with Viognier and tiger prawns with Chardonnay.

The events was a real treat for all - as they also got the chance to try a selection of old wine from the cellar, including a 1991 Gewurztraminer and a 1986 Chardonnay, which were still in surprisingly good shape for their age.