Our Story

The Mewstone Story

Brothers Matthew and Jonathan (Jonny) Hughes established Mewstone Vineyard in 2011 on the banks of the D’Entrecasteaux Channel in southern Tasmania. Jonny, who leads the winemaking, brings experience from across Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and Canada, and previously spent seven years as Assistant Winemaker at Moorilla in Hobart.

Our vineyard — a former cherry orchard — is now planted to Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Riesling. After trialling several varieties in the early years, we’ve refined our focus to these three, which consistently deliver the clarity, elegance, and site expression we value. It is nearing its final size of 5.5 hectares, with Pinot and Chardonnay as the backbone.

Mewstone is our flagship label, produced exclusively from our coastal site at Flowerpot. The vineyard’s proximity to the water moderates the temperature and extends the growing season, allowing for slow, even ripening and exceptional fruit purity. Our winemaking is minimal intervention — wild ferments, no unnecessary additions, and bottling without fining or filtration wherever possible. Each wine is a precise, expressive reflection of its origin.

To complement our estate-grown wines,hughes & hughesis our creative, multi-regional label. Built on close relationships with growers across Tasmania — particularly in the Derwent, Coal River, and North West — the range is focused on texture, energy, and drinkability. Alongside broader regional blends, standout parcels of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah are bottled as single-site wines, showcasing the character of vineyards beyond our own.

Together, Mewstone and hughes & hughes offer a layered and personal perspective on Tasmanian wine — a balance of precision and play, restraint and creativity, grounded in a deep connection to place.

Our Labels

Michael Schlitz is a printmaker living and working in the Huon Valley Tasmania. He creates images in a woodcut without a press. He has studied traditional and contemporary woodblock printing in Japan. Mewstone initially commissioned Michael to do some new woodblock works for both labels but after finding a selection of his old copper etchings we had a change of plan. Mostly from his “Book of Voyages”, the works are inspired by both the land and the sea.