Name: Jonathon Mattick
Role: Winemaker/Viticulturist
Winery: Canobolas Wines
Jonathon Mattick has reignited Canobolas Smith Wines. Since recently purchasing the vineyard and winery, he and his family have made quite an impact. Renamed ‘Canobolas Wines’ they have been shortlisted for the Halliday Wine Companion 2025 ‘Dark Horse’ Winey of the Year. This is no small feat and gives insight into the untapped potential of the Canobolas Wines site under the hand of this experienced and judicious winemaker.
What got you into wine initially?
I always had a fascination with vineyards and wine production. I clearly remember watching the show Oz Clarke's big wine adventure, a documentary about wine and travel. In the various episodes the sommeliers and winemakers were accurately differentiating and naming wines based on the soils they were grown in. The thought that something could express its origin so clearly, resonated deeply and stuck with me for a long time.
When I was in my mid-twenties I was in Spain walking the Camino de Santiago trail, as it winds its way through the wine regions of Navarra and Rioja I was inspired to pursue a career in the industry on my return to Australia. I studied at Charles Sturt University and worked any job I could find; cellar doors, vineyards, and wineries all around Australia and a few stints overseas. Excuse the pun but the lifestyle was intoxicating and the more I worked the more I wanted to be involved in the industry.
What can visitors expect when visiting your cellar door?
We are due to open our renovated cellar door in late October, it will be a premium wine tasting experience revolving around the history and lineage of our beautiful vineyard and wines. Until then they are available to purchase on the website or at local bottle shops like The Lane Cellars and Ferment Wine Centre.
What’s your favourite wine?
Chardonnay has been a lifelong love affair. It is what brought me to Orange and it's the only thing I've ever wanted to dedicate my life towards perfecting.
If someone doesn’t know much about wine, what would you recommend they taste?
I would start and finish with Champagne/Sparkling wine. It comes in so many styles that there is something for everyone.
What makes your wines unique?
The part of the mountain which we are situated on is the remnants of an extinct volcanic complex which erupted in several phases between 11-13 million years ago, making it a relatively recent geological feature. The basalt rock that was created by the lava flows has broken up over millions of years, forming the deep rich red soils that are excellent for grape growing and wine production. The resulting soils are known as Red Ferrosols (Krasnozems).
Although these soils do not occupy large areas in Australia, they are widely recognised and used because of their favourable physical properties. They have excellent structural stability, some clay, good water-holding capacity and high nutrient content.
In parts of the vineyard you'd have to dig well over 2.5 metres deep before you reach anything beyond the beautiful red soil and then it's a mix of broken free draining basalt rocky outcrops. This has allowed the 38 year old vines to grow unirrigated as they can send tap roots down deep into the earth.
The blocks have varying composition, our top Chardonnay coming from the deepest red soil and the best Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc coming from the stoniest part to the vineyard where shards of basalt and small amounts of fine quartz fragments can be found nearer the surface. There is a gradual change across the vineyard slope creating unique pockets of terroir. We keep the parcels separate during fermentation to tease out and discover the expression and diversity of soil within our site.
What are 3 Orange wines that you’d recommend (not any of your own)?
This is a much harder question than you realise, the quality and consistency of wines from Orange is world class. There would be 50 or more wines I would highly recommend to anyone but these three are the wines that most often grace our dinner table:
Swinging Bridge ‘Hill Park’ Reserve Chardonnay
Chalou Pinot Noir
Byrne Farm Shiraz/Pinot