Stephen Webber

Chief Winemaker/Manager, De Bortoli Yarra Valley

Steve Webber is the ultimate wine enthusiast. When he married Leanne De Bortoli in 1989 and moved to the family's Yarra Valley vineyard to establish a premium wine brand, he set out “to do something a bit special.” Together Steve and Leanne built a winery based on their own down-to-earth hospitality and serious commitment to quality. They also built a restaurant and cellar door to launch the first De Bortoli Yarra Valley brand.

Steve was born to be a winemaker. He absorbed a wide understanding of horticulture and viticultural research and innovation in the wine industry from his late father. His first employer was Leo Buring whom he so impressed that the corporate parent company, Lindemans, sponsored his studies for a Bachelor of Applied Science in Oenology at Roseworthy.

Seven years at Lindemans exposed him to some of Australia's finest winemakers including Riesling legend John Vickery, the late Albert Chan, Coonawarra visionary Greg Clayfield and noted Hunter expert Karl Stockhausen.

Steve Webber brought every ounce of resourcefulness to his role at De Bortoli Yarra Valley.'We thought we were doing really cool stuff in the early days at the Yarra Valley,' says Steve, 'but I think it was a real learning curve that we are still riding. It takes a long time to understand a region, viticulture and the winemaking needed to make high quality wine.'

Steve, recently awarded 2007 Winemaker of the Year by Gourmet Traveller WINE, is seeking greater finesse in his wines without losing flavour by picking earlier and using less new oak. As he explains, 'It all starts in the vineyard where we work to improve flavour levels and finesse while harvesting at lower sugars and avoiding wines with over-ripe flavours and high alcohol.' Since the Yarra Valley wines were launched, Steve also created the Windy Peak and Gulf Station Yarra Valley brands.

Steve admits to being obsessed with Pinot Noir, he says, 'Great Pinot is expensive to grow and make so is not widely appreciated. We believe by producing affordable wines we can bring this delicious variety to a wider audience who will aspire to our Estate Grown and Reserve Release wines.'

In 2003 Steve made a small batch of Pinot Noir in the famous Burgundian appellation of Gevrey Chambertin. More recently Steve has collaborated with Stephen Shelmerdine to produce PHI Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the Shelmerdine family vineyard at Lusatia Park high in the northern reaches of the Yarra Valley.

Steve's says, 'The buzzword for us is deliciousness in wine, whether to describe classic styles or inexpensive wines... The future of Australian wine is in regionality and a sense of place. The blending of varieties is very important but is more relevant from a single vineyard or region.

'Customers deserve more effort, more feel for the land in their wines: attention to detail in the cellar so that the wine express their terroir, in other words a regional varietal quality and purity that makes distinctive wines.'

Steve and Leanne have two teenage daughters.