no innocent bystander an interview with phil sexton
By Mike Muirhead
In an exclusive interview with Phil Sexton of Innocent Bystander and Giant Steps wineries in the Victorian Yarra Valley , Mike Muirhead of Banville & Jones explores the inspiring , community-minded approach of a pioneer New World winemaker . Phil Sexton ’ s winemaking is as holistic as it is entrepreneurial , and his wines are as original and balanced as they are delicious . Phil also knows a little something about winning over his postal code .
MM : Gary Hewitt , my buying partner , and I have always been big fans of Innocent Bystander wine . We were in the Yarra Valley about three years ago . being hot and dusty , but they come to the Yarra Valley and they can ’ t believe it — it looks like Burgundy .
MM : It does !
Phil and Allison Sexton
PS : They are varieties I love . One of the things that is particularly crucial for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir is a severe winter cycle — they really do need dormancy . The second thing they need is a severe diurnal cycle during the ripening season . If you don ’ t get big swings between hot days and cold nights during the ripening season , you don ’ t get the PH and the acidity that you need to make restrained styles of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir .
MM : You were a Master Brewer first . What drew you to the wine industry ?
PS : And what brought you out here ?
MM : We are a private retailer , specializing in wines from all over the world . Both Gary and I are Sommeliers by trade , and people in our area have gone from drinking the big Barossa-style to a more reserved style . We like to be ahead of the curve and we know that the wines of Yarra have always been great , but a little bit understated compared to the rest of Australia . Are you following the same trend in Australian wine ?
PS : We recently did an afternoon with Jancis Robinson of the Financial Times at the London Wine Trade Fair and we tried to get her to look at a whole new direction for Chardonnay and how Australian wines are coming away from those big blockbuster styles .
MM : You see more and more wineries opening up in regions like the Yarra and the cooler parts of Western Australia . Do you feel that ’ s the direction that Australian wine is going ?
PS : Definitely . It ’ s being driven by the small , independent vineyard-based producers , not by the big corporates . We ’ re moving into much cooler areas . Most people think of Australia as
PS : There ’ s snow on the mountains this morning — I can see it !
MM : Wow ! Was it the climate that drew you to the Yarra Valley ?
PS : Yes , I owned Devil ’ s Lair in Margaret River . The Margaret River Chardonnays are beautiful wines when they ’ re young wines , but we weren ’ t getting age-worthiness out of them . That really concerned me — if you ’ re going to make pedigreed Chardonnay , it ’ s really got to be age-worthy .
MM : I can tell from your list of wines that you have a very large influence from Burgundy , with Chardonnays and Pinots . Are they just grape varieties that you love , or did you travel there and fall in love with the place ? How did you come about those grapes ?
PS : I ’ ve always been involved in wine . I grew up in a wine district and spent most of my time working in the beer industry making enough money to plant vineyards . [ laughs ]. It ’ s really only in the last 15 years that I ’ ve been able to earn a living in the wine industry . The wine industry is full of people who become patrons — rich patrons — to vineyards and wineries . We ’ re competing against people who don ’ t need to make a profit . I think it ’ s really important to not only be doing it your way without someone telling you how to do it , but definitely doing it so that you are actually self-supporting ; because otherwise , you ’ re just a rich man ’ s folly , you know ? If you really are going to be serious wine producers , you have to be self-sustaining .
MM : How many vineyards do you own ?
PS : We live on our home vineyard , the Sexton Vineyard , right next door to Yarra Yering . It ’ s a beautiful site . It ’ s north-facing and it ’ s got very , very lean soil . I planted the whole thing myself in ‘ 96 . More importantly , though , this is the first time , commercially , that anyone in Australia had planted clone leaf specifically . A lot of people have paid attention to what we ’ re doing because it ’ s the first time
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