Having worked in the wine industry in various roles since she was 18, Keryn Matthews always dreamed of one day owning a vineyard.
The journey to reach her goal, however, wasn’t always an easy road. Having dropped out of school and finding herself pregnant at 17, Keryn had to work hard to provide a better life for her and her daughter Jemma. Keryn attributes her determination to succeed largely from wanting to prove herself to her parents. Working four jobs, she purchased her first house at 21, and then when she met her husband, Simon, at 30, together the couple saved every penny they made to pay off their family home.
In 2013, Simon and Keryn found themselves wanting to own their own business, so when they came across the multi-activity venue, Wild on Waiheke, for sale on Waiheke Island – Auckland’s little slice of island paradise – they threw everything into it financially and emotionally. “It became, and still is, our entire livelihood,” says Keryn. For almost a decade now, the couple have poured their heart and soul into the business, creating three entities; Wild Estate Vineyard, Wild on Waiheke Activities and Waiheke Island Brewery.
Best known as a restaurant as well as a versatile venue for hosting team building events, conferences, weddings, live music and corporate functions, Wild Estate is less known, however, for its boutique vineyard and craft brewery – which boasts incredible wines and handcrafted beers. “A lot of people know about our business because they come to us for team building, but what they don’t often know is that we make our own wine,” says Keryn. “So often our restaurant guests will ask where the wine is from, and we say to them, ‘You know those vines that you walked past to get here? Well that’s exactly where’,” laughs Keryn.
When the Matthews first brought the property, the vines were already established, in fact some of them where nearly 30 years old. However, to really bring the vineyard back to life, a lot of tender love and care was needed. The Matthews set about tending to the soil and planting more grapes, such as chardonnay, pinot gris, syrah and petit verdot. “We take our wine very seriously,” says Keryn. “After being so passionate about the wine industry for so many decades, it’s been incredible to produce my own wine.” Along with a viticulturist, the various wines on offer at Wild Estate Vineyard are produced by a couple of different winemakers so that the style desired by Keryn is fully achieved. “All our grapes are hand-picked and hand-tendered,” says Keryn. “Because our volumes are so small, we need to rely on sharing wine-making resources on the island. That’s one really cool thing about Waiheke, everyone rallies together. Our wine is in very good hands here.”
In June, Keryn proudly launched their latest drop – a 2019 reserve called ‘The W’. Crafted from the vineyard’s very best hand-selected parcels and matured in French oak barriques, this heroic red is a blend of merlot, cabernet franc and malbec. Beautifully packaged, this premium wine has been specifically designed for enjoying at celebrations or for cellaring. “We wanted to produce an ultra-reserve wine, but for the first five years the weather gods weren’t being kind to us. Then in 2019 we found ourselves with an exceptional vintage. With a big red wine like this, you want to wait until it opens up and the tannins soften and the fruit shines through. That’s why we waited to release it when it was ready to drink, rather than needing to be cellared. But equally, if you do put it away, it will only get better with age,” says Keryn. Launched just in time for winter, The W can be sampled at the Wild Estate restaurant as part of their tasting tray, and along with all the other wines, can also be bought direct from the Wild Estate online shop, which is another recent string to Keryn’s bow.
“We take our wine very seriously” says Keryn. “After being so passionate about the wine industry for so many decades, it’s been incredible to produce my own wine.”
“The business has been a labour of love, sweat and tears, but to see our dream come to life has made all the hard work worth it”, says Keryn. “And to be able to drink my own drop at the end of a hard-working day, is quite frankly, humbling.”
