Get to Know Mewstone Wines, Tasmania’s Sexiest Cellar Door and Organic Wine Leader
Mewstone founders photo credit Dearna Bond
The term cellar door is mostly an Australian term used to describe an underground cellar. While the term is still widely used, the description has changed over the years. Most of Australia's cellar doors are above ground and come with a high design tag. In Flowerpot, Tasmania, a small family-owned winery has swung open the giant glass doors to their new, sexy cellar door.
Mewstone Wines is owned and operated by brothers Matthew and Jonathan Hughes—also of Hughes and Hughes Wines, which champions varietal expression. Only a 45-minute drive from Hobart, Mewstone Wines sits on a stunning piece of land, looking onto Bruny Island and a side profile of the Wellington Ranges. The scenery is beyond extraordinary and a rarity in Tasmania, a region of Australia that produces barely one percent of the country's wine grapes.
The Vineyards
Mewstone Winery photo credit Adam Gibson.jpg
"Would you believe it? This land used to be a cherry farm," says Matt, who then explained, the brothers were visiting a small vineyard next door when they spotted the land for sale in 2010. It wasn't until 2015 that the Hughes brothers managed to get a tiny crop from the planting. From that yield, they made a pinot, which they didn't release to anyone. "Jonathan is the winemaker," says Matt. "He had never made his own wine before, so he played around with the grapes and made a great pinot that year, but we didn't release it to anyone."
In 2016, the brothers released the first vintage under Mewstone Wines. Regarding the name, Matt relays a story of his wife finding a rock while driving on the East Coast of Tasmania. Mewstone produces pinor noir, Riesling and very small quantities of chardonnay and syrah.
"It took us years to think of a name," says Matt. "Mewstone is a big rock—my wife drove past it. There's a story about French sailors taking a wrong bearing off Mewstone, which forced them into this channel. I liked the idea of the rock being found by accident, and it harks back to our origins too."
A Second Label
That same year, the brothers accidentally founded Hughes and Hughes Wines. As Matt explains, the label focuses on winemaking. The brothers buy fruit from nearby vineyards to experiment with varietals, which they continue today. Expect a playful range of lo-fi, living wines made without any sulfur adds.
"We had no plans of growing the business past the small family label, but it has organically grown over the years until it got to the size it is now," says Matt. "Now, I let Jonny express himself as he chooses fit, and it's worked so far.
"He just likes to add lots of little layers to the wines he makes. And they're always probably, I'd say, slightly more generous, maybe in drinking styles," says Matt. Jonathan tends to produce in small amounts as he enjoys the attention he gives to his unique creations, although the boys do have a core range wine drinkers can try at any time. The 2022 range includes chardonnay, pinot gris, rose, riesling, sauvignon blanc and syrah.
A Stunning Cellar Door
Mewstone cellar door photo credit Adam Gibson.jpg
The cellar door is the best place to sample the brothers' tipples. Local architects Preston Lane were recruited for the ambitious project, which has been executed with finesse. Matt explains the cellar door plans were in the works for years. "Originally, it was about half as big as it is now," chuffs Matt. "Essentially, we gave them an undesigned triangle and said go nuts."
Matt explains husband and wife team, Ross and Lucy Harrison, brought the concept to life. Lucy designed the interior, which is flooded with natural light. The dark features contrast strikingly with the verdant greens and blues of the mountains and river. "We were lucky that the concrete slabs were coming from a local factory," says Matt. "I remember Lucy saying; we are going to give these a light polish, and no one's putting anything on those walls."
"In the end, it all turned out great,” says Matt, adding, “I think the concrete slabs really sell that brutalist aesthetic,” we think it’s nothing shy of drop-dead gorgeous.