customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

knowledgeQuestion

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Lisa Cam

What does it take to become a winemaker for one of the largest producers in the world? For Steph Dutton, a senior winemaker for Penfolds, it started with working in hospitality in Melbourne, Australia, where she was born.
“I was doing my honours [degree] in genetics and, like a lot of good university students, I worked in hospitality and I fell in love with wines of the world through my job,” she says.
“Then I started to do a lot of short courses. I remember going through short course after short course, and getting to a point where I was asked if I wanted to consider doing the long course.”
After earning her degree from the University of Melbourne, she moved to Adelaide to complete a master’s degree in oenology.

Dutton joined Penfolds in 2007 and by 2010 was part of the company’s red-wine making team in the Barossa Valley northeast of Adelaide.
In 2017, she was promoted to senior winemaker, a role that now spans continents.
She has played a crucial role in developing Penfolds’ Californian portfolio, showing her attention to detail and deep understanding of winemaking.
“Viticulture moves very slowly,” she says. “Working in the northern hemisphere started in California and that began with an acquisition of a plot of land back in 1998. It took 20 years before the acquisition and the release of our first wine from California.”
To celebrate its 180th anniversary, Penfolds this year released its commemorative Bin 180 Coonawarra Cabernet Shiraz 2021.

The Bin 180 2021 is made with cabernet sauvignon grapes from block 10, and shiraz grapes from block 5, two of the oldest vineyard plots in South Australia’s Coonawarra wine region.
Asked to describe what kind of vintage the commemorative wine is, Dutton compares it to other vintages decades old.
“I look at this wine and I think of some closely related vintages from our past, like the 2008 Bin 620, the 1966 Bin 620, the 1999 Bin 20,” she says, “even the 1980 Bin 820, and that is based off of what I’ve seen from those regional wines from Coonawarra conservatively.”
She adds: “The [Coonawarra Bin 180 2021] will have 30 years of life in it.”
At the moment we’re doing some early exploratory trial work with grapes from China
Steph Dutton
Penfolds’ 2024 anniversary collection also includes the highly anticipated second release of the brand’s experimental CWT (Chinese Winemaking Trial) 521 Cabernet Sauvignon Marselan, following its inaugural 2021 Chinese vintage.
The first number in the name refers to the wine being made with grapes from five vineyard plots – four in Yunnan province, in southwest China, and one in Ningxia, in north-central China – and the subsequent digits refer to the 2021 vintage.
The 2022-vintage trial wine blends cabernet sauvignon grapes from Yunnan’s Shangri-La region with a higher proportion of marselan grapes from Ningxia than was used for the first release.

“At the moment we’re doing some early exploratory trial work with grapes from China and it’s resulted in a wine that we have to share with collectors and loyalists,” Dutton says.
Asked if Penfolds is looking to acquire real estate in China like it did in California, Dutton says: “At the moment, no, but are we exploring? Absolutely.”


Australian winemaker for Penfolds on her rise and role in making wine in China, California

5 must-try menus and food events in Hong Kong this weekend, September 20-22

Yoshinoya to expand ostrich skincare sales so it can serve more ostrich rice bowls

New York to Mumbai, the story of Hunger Inc, Veronica’s sandwich shop, pavs and Papa’s

Food and Drinks

A bottle of Bin 180 Coonawarra Cabernet Shiraz 2021 released to mark Penfolds’ 180th anniversary. Photo: Penfolds

Steph Dutton, senior winemaker for Australian producer Penfolds, who has had a role in its northern hemisphere winemaking in California and now China. Steph Dutton. Photo: Penfolds

Penfolds’ 2024 collection, which celebrates the wine producer’s 180th anniversary. Photo: Penfolds

Penfolds’ commemorative 180 Coonawarra Cabernet Shiraz 2021. Photo: Penfolds

Penfolds chief winemaker Peter Gago (left) and colleagues n a vineyard in Shangri-La, in China’s Yunnan province. Photo: Penfolds

How hops grown indoors could save the beer industry with cheaper, more flavourful choices

A global shortage of hops, which provide beer with its bitter, fruity flavour, could be solved with breakthroughs in indoor growing methods. Photo: Shutterstock

Indoor-grown hops in Spain. Hops are a vital ingredient in beer, adding a fruity flavour and bitterness. Rising temperatures and increased droughts have affected harvests, so indoor solutions are being researched. Photo: AFP

Hop plants grown indoors are put into a harvesting machine at Ekonoke’s facility in Chantada, northern Spain. Photo: AFP

Burgundy without pinot noir grapes? Climate change pushes the boundaries of winemaking

Red wine made with pinot noir grapes in Burgundy, France. Photo: Shutterstock

Winemakers in Europe will increasingly struggle as climate change tests the geographical indications that limit wine to being made using grapes from defined regions. Photo: Shutterstock

Vineyards on a hill at Denbies Wine Estate in Surrey, England. Winemaking started in the country after the Norman invasion of 1066, but was halted by cooling temperatures and has only recently begun again. Photo: Shutterstock

Grapevines dry up during record heat in Europe, which is seeing rising average temperatures because of climate change. Wines limited to being made with grapes grown in defined areas may not have a future. Photo: Shutterstock

Vineyards near Vosne-Romanée village in Côte de Nuits, Burgundy, France. The pinot noir grape, for which the region is famous, may not be able to thrive in the area as temperatures rise. Photo: Shutterstock

Hong Kong noodle history and the different noodle styles explained

Shrimp roe thick noodle lo mien from Kwan Kee Bamboo Noodle in Hong Kong. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

Roast goose with lai fun rice noodles from Yung Kee in Hong Kong. Learn about the different kinds of noodles served in the city, how they are traditionally made, and the foods they are typically paired with. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

Wheat noodles originate in Northern China, while rice noodles have Southern Chinese origins, says Dr Siu Yan-ho, a lecturer in Chinese language and literature at Baptist University. 

Marco Li Ka-chi of Kwan Kee Bamboo Noodle balancing on a bamboo pole to make noodles. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

Shrimp roe thick noodle lo mien at Kwan Kee Bamboo Noodle. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

 Cheung Wing Kee started making noodles in the 1950s, producing small quantities using labour-intensive methods.

Roast goose with lai fun rice noodles. The thicker, neutral-tasting noodles are perfect for absorbing the flavours from the roast goose and broth. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

Lifestyle

Food & Drink

Penfolds senior winemaker Steph Dutton talks about its Californian and Chinese wines, and its 180th anniversary vintage made in Australia


Penfolds senior winemaker Steph Dutton talks about its Californian and Chinese wines, and its 180th anniversary vintage made in Australia.
