Where tradition begins
The story of the Matiška winery starts at the begining of 20th century with Mate Kiršić, who was born in the small hamlet of Klapčići in the municipality of Sveta Nedelja, Istria.
As a young man, Mate left his village to work at sea and found a job as a stoker on the steamship RMS Carpathia, the ship whose third voyage in 1912 would forever change both Mate’s career and his life.
After receiving the distress call, the Carpathia steamed toward the site of the Titanic‘s sinking. The stokers were told to keep the fires at full power – thermometer needles were pushed to their limits, it felt as if the boilers might explode, and the whole ship was shaking while they were trying to reach and save the victims as quickly as possible.
At dawn, when they arrived at the scene, the sea was as calm as oil but covered in fog; the entire crew started rescuing people from the lifeboats and pulling them out of the icy cold Atlantic.
For this act of heroism, Mate, like all other members of the Carpathia crew, was awarded a medal by the Titanic Survivors Committee. As a stoker, he received a bronze medal.
The front of the oval medal shows the Carpathia surrounded by the lifeboats and icebergs. Its design is bordered with dolphins and an anchor and the sea god Neptune’s head on the top. On the back side is an inscription from the 712 Titanic survivors honoring the heroic deeds of the ship’s crew.
After that traumatic experience, Mate returned to his native village and decided to leave seafaring behind. He devoted himself to the land, and in 1913 began planting grapevines and producing wine.
- Mate Kiršić awarded a medal for bravery
- In 1913, the story of our vineyards and winemaking began.
From generation to generation
Throughout the 20th century the Kiršić family kept working in the vineyards despite hard times, preserving old traditions and experiences that were passed down from one generation to another. Romano Kiršić, the youngest of Mate’s seven sons, carried on with his father’s passion for the grapevine through the stories Mate told him.
Deep-rooted tradition
Redento Kiršić, representing the third generation, also followed the family path, learning from his elders from a young age.
With the new generation came the changes: they began buying land, and in 1986 – with the birth of Redento’s son Bojan – they planted the family’s largest vineyard to date, planted with Malvazija and Teran.
Redento’s efforts increased sales, brought participation in exhibitions and tastings, and earned the winery significant recognition for the quality of its wines.
The new generation and new winery name
A New Chapter
Bojan Kiršić, heir to this proud tradition, starts with a new era in which the family’s history is given a contemporary form.
Like previous generations, the new one introduced innovations: the nickname „Matiška“, by which the Kiršić family is known in the village, became the winery’s name – a tribute to the family, its traditions, and to the founder and his remarkable life story.
By bottling their own wine and creating their own label design, Bojan combined heritage and tradition with modern elegance. The label’s lines echo his great-grandfather’s medal and the waves of the Atlantic – the bridge between land and sea, symbolizing continuous motion and the unbreakable bond between generations. In this way he links past and future, preserving history and quality in the taste while giving the bottles a contemporary look.
Bojan continued to take part in exhibitions, presentations and events, expanding production, planting new vineyards and raising the winery’s profile – all without abandoning tradition, but instead nurturing the legacy left by his great-grandfather Mate.
Over the years he also planted new grape varieties, so today the winery offers Malvasia, dry and semi-sweet yellow Muscat, Rosé, Teran, Refosk and Merlot.
Inspired by tradition
An enduring family tradition...
Wine that brings people together
All the grapes are still picked exclusively by the hardworking hands of family members and friends, and the harvest remains as it always was – a time for gathering, stories and laughter.
Among the current vines are some planted by Mate himself; tasting Matiška wines means experiencing the family’s history and tradition from the very beginning.
Every bottle of Matiška tells a story of the Kiršić family’s courage and perseverance, devotion, respect for tradition and the determination of a man who left the sea and returned to his beloved Istria to create a legacy that lives on in every drop of wine.
