He and fellow founder Helma van den Berg grafted and planted the original vines that still provide the majority of the fruit for the reserve.
The vineyard selection chardonnay is the newcomer to the wine list, in only its third vintage, and the work of Mr Riwai who began as a winemaker at Clearview in 2005 and wanted to create what he called a "leaner" style of chardonnay.
Both put their 2013 efforts forward for this year's show and the friendly rivalry began - whose would gain gold?
As it turned out both did, with Clearview picking up two of the seven golds awarded for Bay-produced chardonnay.
"Without a doubt, 2013 was a fantastic vintage for Hawke's Bay and we are expecting there to be many accolades and awards for not just ours but many Hawke's Bay wines as they come to market," Clearview Estate sales and marketing manager Charles Gear said.
"I can see that there will be some fun times ahead around our smoko table as the results of the various wine competitions come out."
With a smile he suggested setting up a secret bet "amongst the rest of us" to see which of the pair would eventually come out on top at the end of the latest wine awards series.
At this stage both were delighted to emerge with a drawn result.
Nine Hawke's Bay wineries picked up a total of 21 golds while Bay-grown grapes were also used to create gold-medal winners by wineries such as Falconhead in Katikati and St Clair in Marlborough.
Church Road, Villa Maria and Matua Valley Wines picked up four golds each.
The Dartmoor Valley, Puketapu, Matua vineyard came up trumps in viognier, malbec, syrah and chardonnay, while Church Road was awarded golds for chardonnay, pinot gris, cabernet sauvignon and in the international and other red varieties with its McDonald Series Marzemino.
Villa Maria scored with its chardonnay, syrah, merlot and cabernet sauvignon.
The competition, now in its 10th year, is the largest wine competition staged in this country and drew 2130 entries.
BAY'S GOLD WINNERS
Chardonnay
Black Barn Vineyards Reserve Hawke's Bay Chardonnay 2012
Church Road McDonald Series Chardonnay 2012
Clearview Estate Reserve Chardonnay 2013
Clearview Estate Vineyard Selection Chardonnay 2013
Matua Lands & Legends Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2013
Vidal Legacy Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2010
Villa Maria Reserve Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2013
Pinot Gris
Church Road McDonald Series Pinot Gris 2013
Viognier and Other Aromatics
Esk Valley Hawkes Bay Verdelho 2013
Matua Single Vineyard Hawkes Bay Albarino 2014
Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Predominant Blends
Church Road McDonald Series Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
Villa Maria Reserve Gimblett Gravels Hawkes Bay Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2010
Merlot and Merlot Predominant Blends
Mission Reserve Merlot 2013
Squawking Magpie The Nest Merlot 2013
Villa Maria Cellar Selection Hawkes Bay Organic Merlot 2013
Malbec
Matua Single Vineyard Hawkes Bay Malbec 2013
Shiraz/Syrah
Elephant Hill Syrah 2013
Matua Single Vineyard Matheson Syrah 2013
Vidal Legacy Gimblett Gravels Hawkes Bay Syrah 2011
Villa Maria Reserve Gimblett Gravels Hawkes Bay Syrah 2012
International and Other Red Varieties
Church Road McDonald Series Marzemino 2012
