De Bortoli Wines

Last updated

De Bortoli Wines Pty Limited
Company type Private
Industry Wine
Founded1928
Headquarters Bilbul, New South Wales, Australia
Key people
Emeri De Bortoli, Darren De Bortoli, Leanne Webber (nee De Bortoli), Victor De Bortoli, Kevin De Bortoli [1]
Website http://www.debortoli.com.au

De Bortoli Wines is a wine-producing private family-owned company based in Australia. In 2022 it was ranked the seventh largest Australian wine company by production, [2] and the sixth largest in terms of total revenue. [3] Its range of wines includes the sweet botrytized (Noble rot-affected) white dessert wine, Noble One. [4] [5] [6]

Contents

De Bortoli Wines Bilbul Winery Dbw bilbul 0603.jpg
De Bortoli Wines Bilbul Winery

Wineries and vineyards

De Bortoli Wines currently owns four wineries in four different Australian wine growing regions, this follows the acquisition of the vineyards, winery and tourism facility of Rutherglen Estates in 2018. [7] [8]

The company has vineyards in the same regions as its wineries, along with the King Valley in Victoria.

Winemaking

The winemaking team is overseen by third-generation winemaker Darren De Bortoli and his brother-in-law Steve Webber. [11] In the early 1980s, Darren De Bortoli created the Noble One Botrytis Semillon. Leanne De Bortoli and her husband, Steve Webber, established the company's Yarra Valley winery and restaurant complex in the late 1980s, with Steve Webber also responsible for overseeing the Yarra Valley winery and vineyards. [11] [12] [1]

Noble One

De Bortoli Wines Noble One Botrytis Semillon is a sweet white dessert wine, developed by Darren De Bortoli during the early 1980s. [6]

Since its release, Noble One has been awarded 104 [13] Trophies, 352 Gold medals [13] and 113 International Awards. In 2005 screw cap closures were placed on 50% of the 750ml bottles of 2003 Noble One in a trial that attempted to ensure fruit intensity and freshness for consumers. De Bortoli Wines have kept the 375ml, 50% of the 750ml and all export stock under cork. However, in an industry where issues over cork taint keep arising, approximately 34% of wines are sealed with some type of synthetic closure.

Noble One was given its name in 1990 as a result of the bilateral agreement between Australia and the European Economic Community in which Australia agreed to phase out the use of European names on wine labels. Previously the wine was known as 'Sauternes,' but today it is simply called Noble One. [14]

History

During Darren De Bortoli's years at Roseworthy Agricultural College, Australia's premier winemaking institute, a lot of development work was being done on Botrytis wine styles. While there, De Bortoli decided to make a botrytis affected wine of his own. At that time (1982) there was a surplus of Semillon grapes, a thin skinned, tight bunched varietal particularly susceptible to extensive, uniform botrytis infection. The resulting wine went on to win numerous awards including Best Botrytis Wine at the International Wine and Spirit Competition in 1984. [4]

History

De Bortoli Wines was established in 1928 by Vittorio & Giuseppina De Bortoli and rapidly expanded under the direction of their son, Deen De Bortoli. [15] The family history is documented in a book called Celebrazione! launched in 2003 to celebrate De Bortoli Wines' 75th Anniversary. [16]

Deen De Bortoli (born 1936) was the chairman of De Bortoli Wines. He was born in 1936, and at age 15 he left school to help his parents Vittorio and Giuseppina run the family business. [15] He married Emeri De Bortoli in 1958, and lived in Bilbul, New South Wales, his whole life. Deen and Emeri had four children, all of which work for the company today. Deen featured in the 2002 episode of the ABC's Dynasties television series titled The De Bortolis of Griffith [17] which tracked the growth over three generations of the family business from Italian immigrants into one of Australia's largest family wine companies. Deen passed away in 2003 at the age of 67. [15]

Darren De Bortoli (born 1960) is currently the managing director of De Bortoli Wines Pty Limited. Darren studied winemaking at Roseworthy College in South Australia, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Oenology in 1982. Darren is well known for his Botrytis Semillon, Noble One. At the age of 33, Darren was appointed Managing Director. [18] Along with his father, he was also featured in the 2002 episode of the ABC's Dynasties television series titled The De Bortolis of Griffith [17]

Darren's sister Leanne manages the Yarra and King Valley wineries with her husband Stephen Webber. Webber is also the Chief Winemaker, for the Yarra Valley Winery of the De Bortoli family business, established in 1928. He was awarded 'Winemaker of the Year by Gourmet Traveller WINE' in 2007. [19]

In 2018 a social media scandal surrounding Darren De Bortoli's personal postings became international news. The postings were described as "sexist" and "inappropriate." [20]

Achievements

Environment and technology

As a family-owned company, De Bortoli Wines has often taken a longer-term view of the world than a traditional corporate equivalent.

Examples include the consideration of concepts such as data sovereignty and commitment to open standards and the rollout of Linux desktop clients. [24] [25] [26]

Examples of De Bortoli Wines' long-term view of environmental sustainability include:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New World wine</span> Wine produced outside the traditional wine-growing areas of Europe and the Middle East

New World wines are those wines produced outside the traditional winegrowing areas of Europe and the Middle East, in particular from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States. The phrase connotes a distinction between these "New World" wines and those wines produced in "Old World" countries with a long-established history of wine production, essentially in Europe, most notably: France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Portugal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sémillon</span> Variety of grape

Sémillon is a golden-skinned grape used to make dry and sweet white wines, mostly in France and Australia. Its thin skin and susceptibility to botrytis make it dominate the sweet wine region Sauternes AOC and Barsac AOC.

Yalumba is an Australian winery located near the town of Angaston, South Australia in the Barossa Valley wine region. It was founded by a British brewer, Samuel Smith, who emigrated to Australia with his family from Wareham, Dorset in August 1847 aboard the ship China. Upon arriving in Adelaide in December, Smith built a small house on the banks of the River Torrens. He lived there less than a year before moving north to Angaston where he purchased a 30-acre (120,000 m2) block of land on the settlement's south eastern boundary. He named his property "Yalumba" after an indigenous Australian word for "all the land around". In 1849 Smith and his son Sidney planted Yalumba's first vineyards, beginning the Yalumba dynasty. Until the 1960s Yalumba was known for fortified wines. Today Yalumba is Australia's oldest family-owned winery. As at 2022 it was ranked the twelfth largest Australian wine company by production and ninth largest in terms of total revenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian wine</span> Wine making in Australia

The Australian wine industry is one of the world's largest exporters of wine, with approximately 800 million out of the 1.2 to 1.3 billion litres produced annually exported to overseas markets. The wine industry is a significant contributor to the Australian economy through production, employment, export, and tourism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown Brothers Milawa Vineyard</span> Australian wine company

Brown Brothers Milawa Vineyard is a family-owned wine company based in Milawa, Victoria, Australia. Brown Brothers was founded in 1889 by John Francis Brown and continues to be owned and operated by his descendants on the original property. Brown Brothers makes wine from a wide range of grape varieties and into a range of styles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bilbul, New South Wales</span> Town in New South Wales, Australia

Bilbul is a village in the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies in the central part of the Riverina and situated about 6 kilometres north-east of Griffith and 6 kilometres south-west of Yenda. Bilbul was named in honor of William T Bull, an early landowner from the 1880s. The William Bull Brewery is located at Bilbul and named after William Bull, and thus indirectly also after Bilbul. The town had a population at the 2021 census census of 586 people.

Tahbilk Winery is a historic Australian winery with National Trust certification. It is located 120 km (75 mi) north of Melbourne between the townships of Seymour and Nagambie in the Nagambie Lakes a sub region of Goulburn Valley Wine Region. It was established in 1860, and is the oldest family-owned winery and vineyard in Victoria. In 2022 it was ranked the eighteenth largest Australian wine company by production, and the tenth largest in terms of total revenue. The winery is part of Australia's First Families of Wine, a prominent Australian wine alliance.

Alois Kracher Jr. was one of the most successful winemakers of Austria, and was known under the nickname "Luis". The wines from his vineyard Weinlaubenhof Kracher reached a world reputation and high acclaim from international wine critics such as Robert M. Parker, Jr., who awarded 98 points or higher on his famous 100-point scale to several of Kracher's wines. His fame was mainly built on his sweet wines, so called Trockenbeerenauslesen (TBA) of high sweetness and enormous concentration that results from the development of noble rot on the grapes. Local conditions on the shallow Lake Neusiedl, where the Kracher vineyards are situated, are conducive to the development of Botrytis cinerea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victorian wine</span>

Victorian wine is wine made in the Australian state of Victoria. With over 600 wineries, Victoria has more wine producers than any other Australian wine-producing state but ranks third in overall wine production due to the lack of a mass bulk wine-producing area like South Australia's Riverland and New South Wales's Riverina. Viticulture has existed in Victoria since the 19th century and experienced a high point in the 1890s when the region produced more than half of all wine produced in Australia. The phylloxera epidemic that soon followed took a hard toll on the Victoria wine industry which did not fully recover till the 1950s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New South Wales wine</span> Wine produced in New South Wales, Australia

New South Wales wine is Australian wine produced in New South Wales, Australia. New South Wales is Australia's most populous state and its wine consumption far outpaces the region's wine production. The Hunter Valley, located 130 km (81 mi) north of Sydney, is the most well-known wine region but the majority of the state's production takes place in the Big Rivers zone-Perricoota, Riverina and along the Darling and Murray Rivers. The wines produced from the Big Rivers zone are largely used in box wine and mass-produced wine brands such as Yellow Tail. A large variety of grapes are grown in New South Wales, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Shiraz and Sémillon.

Australia's First Families of Wine (AFFW) is an Australian wine initiative to promote Australian wine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hunter Valley wine</span> Wine region in Australia

The Hunter Valley is one of Australia's wine regions. Located in the state of New South Wales and first cultivated in the early 19th century, it was one of the first Australian wine regions. As well as Hunter Valley Sémillon, the region produces wine from a variety of grapes including Shiraz, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Verdelho.

Grosset Wines is an Australian winery based in the Clare Valley wine region of South Australia.

Kingston Estate winery was established in 1979 by Sarantos and Constantina Moularadellis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taylors Wines</span>

Taylors Wines is a family-owned winery established in 1969 and located in the Clare Valley of South Australia. Taylors is one of the founding members of the Australia's First Families of Wine. As at 2022 it was ranked the thirteenth largest Australian wine company in terms of total revenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Cane</span> Australian winemaker

Benjamin Cane is an Australian winemaker who currently owns Duke's Vineyard in the Great Southern region of Western Australia.

Riverina is an Australian Geographical Indication (AGI) registered in the Register of Protected GIs as a wine region. The Riverina AGI is centred on Griffith and is roughly circular with towns on the boundary including Mossgiel, Condobolin, Temora, Junee, Culcairn, Berrigan, Barooga, Finley, Deniliquin and Moulamein. It does not extend as far south as the Murray River. As such, the Riverina wine region is smaller than the generally known Riverina area.

Casella Family Brands is a family-owned wine company based in Australia. Its most well-known brandname is [yellow tail].

Angove Family Winemakers is a winery, operating in the McLaren Vale wine region and Riverland wine region in South Australia. As at 2022 it was ranked the nineteenth largest Australian wine company by production.

Brian John Croser is an Australian winemaker and viticulturist.

References

  1. 1 2 Cornell, Andrew (29 August 2003). "Italian lessons". afr.com. Australian Financial Review . Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  2. ↑ "Australia's largest wine companies by total wine production". winetitles.com. winetitles media. 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  3. ↑ "Australia's largest wine companies by total revenue". winetitles.com. winetitles media. 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  4. 1 2 Young, Andy (31 March 2022). "De Bortoli celebrating 40 Noble years". theshout.com.au. The Shout. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  5. ↑ Halliday, James (2003). Wines of Australia. Mitchell Beazley. p.  40. ISBN   1840007087.
  6. 1 2 "Noble One named one of New World's Top 10 Sweet Wines". Drinks Trade. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  7. 1 2 Madigan, Anthony (15 December 2018). "De Bortoli Wines buys Rutherglen Estates". wbmonline.com.au. Wine Business Magazine. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Hooke, Huon (31 January 2019). "De Bortoli buys Rutherglen Estates". The Real Review. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  9. ↑ "De Bortoli Wines Pokolbin". visitnsw.com. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  10. ↑ "Halliday: De Bortoli (Hunter Valley)". Halliday . Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  11. 1 2 Hubble, Gavin. "Winemaker Interview – Steve Webber". grape-to-glass.com. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  12. ↑ "De Bortoli Yarra Valley Estate". visityarravalley.com.au. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  13. 1 2 "Noble One 25th Vintage Anniversary".
  14. ↑ "Noble One's array of gongs are a case of just desserts". Australian Financial Review . 5 September 2003. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 "A fine De Bortoli vintage runs dry". The Age newspaper. 28 October 2003. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  16. ↑ "De Bortoli Wines". Wine Yarra Valley. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  17. 1 2 "Dynasties: The De Bortolis Of Griffith". Australian Broadcasting Corporation . 23 December 2002. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  18. ↑ "Our Family". De Bortoli Wines. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  19. 1 2 "Dining Out".
  20. ↑ Madigan, Anthony (10 February 2018). "De Bortoli Wines in Damage Control After Offensive Facebook Post". WBM Online. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  21. 1 2 3 "Death of Mr Deen de Bortoli - 29/10/2003 - ADJ - NSW Parliament". Archived from the original on 16 January 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2008.
  22. ↑ "The Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) | AWRI Board". Archived from the original on 18 December 2008.
  23. ↑ "The Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) | AWRI Board". Archived from the original on 18 December 2008.
  24. ↑ Hennessy, Kate (11 March 2008). "Open source of grape expectations". Australian Financial Review . Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  25. ↑ Douglas, "Jeanne-Vida" (18 August 2005). "Open source of grape expectations". ZDNET . Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  26. ↑ "KDE Software Down Under". kde.org. 18 February 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  27. ↑ "De Bortoli Wines: Sustainable success case study" (PDF). NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. November 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  28. 1 2 "How De Bortoli Wines is tackling climate change from 'grape to glass'". NSW Office of Environment and Heritage. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  29. ↑ "De Bortoli Wines - Our vision to become a 'Zero Waste Winery'" (video). youtube.com. De Bortoli Wines. 13 November 2017.
  30. ↑ May, Seamus (19 January 2023). "De Bortoli recognised as top sustainability partner by NSW Government". The Shout. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  31. ↑ "Environment and Heritage: De Bortoli Wines". NSW Government . Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  32. ↑ Jacques, Oliver (5 August 2023). "De Bortoli Wines becomes first and only platinum partner in NSW sustainability program". RegionRiverina. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.