Our wine-making philosophy is simple: we craft the finest wines with great fruit intensity aiming to truly represent their origins and varietal character. To accomplish this goal, we nurture our own vineyards and carefully select grower partners who share our viticulture philosophy. We manage vineyard yields to insure fully ripened fruit and then harvest at the best possible moment.
As winemakers, our job is to bring forth all of the flavours, textures, colours & aromas that the grapes have produced. Our objective is to produce wines true to their varietal character and terroir, showing as much depth, elegance, opulence and balance as possible. Chief Winemaker Matt Kirby and Assistant Winemaker Rob Bregmen continue to achieve the recognition of awards and accolades for the renowned wines produced at Clearview Estate. A legacy that began with original winemaker Tim Turvey in the late 1980's.
Australian-born Matt Kirby moved across the ditch with his young family to take up the winemaker role for Clearview Estate in 2015. A keen surfer, the lure of the Hawke's Bay coastline & sunshine was too good to pass up. After studying marine biology & then working as a chef, Matt pursued his love of wine when he commenced study at Latrobe in Melbourne. His first winemaking experience was his own small vineyard in the Yarra Valley producing Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir. After stints in numerous wine regions in Australia & around the world (China, Burgundy, Austria and the United States) Matt was offered a winemaking role at Knappstein Enterprise Winery in Clare Valley where he worked from 2012-2015. He brings this knowledge, passion & enthusiasm to the hand-crafted wines created here at Clearview Estate.
Our vineyards have a variety of soil types and micro climates which give us the ability to capture the different elements and nuances of each particular site to produce wines of complexity and character. Each grape variety has been carefully matched to the varying soil types, ranging from beach shingle to clay producing a range of flavour profiles unique to our terroir. This diversity provides us with extensive blending options and the opportunity to make regionally based, site specific, single vineyard wines. We employ several local contract growers which enables us to expand our offering to include red varietals for our Bordeaux blends.
