Matt Jarvis is a self-taught vigneron and winemaker with a passion for producing elegant, premium wines from the very vines he planted himself in 1998.

Originally a Bank Manager, Matt spent most of his working life in the South West in Manjimup, Bunbury and then Busselton and Margaret River. Although he grew up in suburban Perth, farming was in his blood. His paternal grandfather was from one of the first dairy farming families in the Baldivis region, before his grandfather was advised to leave the damp dairy environment due to ongoing health concerns. The family then relocated to a Swan Valley vineyard where Matt’s dad recalls happy childhood days growing sultana grapes, until continuing health concerns forced the family away from farming.

Matt revived the Jarvis family’s link to agriculture when, as a 32-year-old, he and new wife Jackie sold their home to purchase 50 acres in the Margaret River sub-region of Bramley. Formally a beef cattle property Jarvis Estate had none of the infrastructure you see today and Matt set about sourcing premium vine cuttings to plant the first wine grapes on the property in the Spring of 1998.

2002 saw the first vintage of Jarvis Estate wines and the wines began winning awards almost immediately. For most of the first decade of operation Matt combined farming, winemaking and helping to raise their 3 young daughters, with a full-time job in Banking. This left little time for a cellar door facility and Matt concentrated on honing his craft, winning wine awards and building an export market.

After leaving the finance industry behind Matt was able to spend more time improving the property and in 2015 construction commenced on the current cellar door facility, built by Matt with the support of experienced local tradesmen. The Cellar Door facility opened in late 2016.

When he is not in the vineyard or the winery, Matt can be found playing veterans AFL Football in winter and grade cricket in the summer. He has been a long-standing committee member for the Margaret River Masters ALF club, has held committee positions with both Margaret River Little Athletics Club and Margaret River Hockey club. He also provides advice to a Department of Education advisory body on agricultural education in WA. He is a proud dad to Caitlin, Madison and Ashlee.

The daughter of UK & Irish immigrants Jackie Jarvis (nee Mullins) grew up in in the northern Perth suburb of Wanneroo, where she spent her teenage years working on the vegetable growing “market gardens” during her school holidays. 

After declaring to her family, that she would “never work in agriculture again” Jackie started her career in the finance industry where she met her husband Matt while they were both working in the South West. The couple relocated back to Perth, both got jobs on St George’s Terrace, bought a house in the city with no plans to ever leave.

Matt called her in 1996 saying he had been offered a work transfer to Margaret River and Jackie agreed she would go for 2 years. By 1998 the couple had sold their Perth home, had their first baby, planted a vineyard; and Jackie declared she would never return to Perth.

Whilst raising their 3 daughters Caitlin (born 1998) Madison (born 1999) and Ashlee (born 2004) Jackie managed the administration and sales for the new wine business and in 2004 she was named the Winner of the Best Home-Based Export Business by the International Business Council of WA.

Jackie returned to off-farm work when Ashlee started school and built new career in as an expert in Workforce Development for the Agricultural sector. Her work in the area of attracting resettled refugees to work in agriculture saw her named as the 2014 WA Rural Woman of the Year and National Runner-Up.

More recently Jackie has served as a Principal Policy Adviser to the on. Alannah MacTiernan MLC Minister for Regional Development; Agriculture & Food. In November 2017 she took up the role of CEO of the Rural, Regional, Remote Woman’s Network of WA Inc. A role that allows her to work from home on vineyard, albeit with regular long-distance trips.

Jackie can often be found working in the Jarvis Estate Cellar Door on weekends and in her spare time drives her youngest daughter to a seemingly endless number of hockey games. She has a love of audio books, generally listened to while driving up and down the Forrest Highway. Jackie currently serves as a Commissioner on the Forest Products Commission and on the Board of the South West Development Commission.