Matt Connell and his wife Beth have been involved in the wine industry since 2000 and Matt Connell Wines is a culmination of the experience gained throughout their lives.
Matt had many years in hospitality management developing his palate. He made the leap and earned a Postgraduate Diploma of Viticulture and Oenology before making a personal quest to work and learn alongside some of the best winemakers in the industry here and overseas. In the meantime, Beth was learning the business side of the industry with a Postgraduate Diploma of Horticulture Management from Lincoln and working as a Management Accountant for many different wineries.
Their early years in wine were spent in Oregon and in 2005 they made the move back to New Zealand where they both worked for several well-known wine companies. In 2016, they made the decision to begin their own custom crush winemaking business and their own Matt Connell Wine brand.
The Wines
We develop wines that are different by design and showcase special growers sites and stories and exude richness of flavour,
complexity, and balance.
Our wines tend to be fruit forward in style. The pinot noirs highlight fruit, complexity, and silky tannins and are fermented in small individual lots using wild and inoculated yeast then matured in French Oak for 10 months before being blended and bottled. The chardonnay is styled on the chardonnay of “Chablis” in France and is barrel fermented with a low percentage of new oak and shows balanced fruit, fine acidity and good length.
Our standards are high and if the quality is not there in any particular vintage, we will not release a wine. It is our guarantee of quality.
Recognition
Since 2016, our own wines and wines of our clients have been highly recognised in domestic and international wine competitions showcasing the consistency of quality. Some highlights have included:
• Matt Connell Wines “Rendition” Pinot Noir – Champion Wine of Show and Champion Pinot Noir Trophy at the 2018 New Zealand International Wine Show.
• A Pinot Noir made by Matt has won the Pinot Noir Trophy at the New Zealand International Wine Show six times over the last ten vintages.
• Matt was awarded the Winemaker of Show Trophy at the New Zealand International Wine Show in 2021.
• Most significantly, one of our client wines won the coveted Pinot Noir Trophy at the Decanter World Wine awards held in London in 2024. This wine competition is the world’s most prestigious and largest with over 18,000 entries. It is the Oscar of the Wine World.
