Giant Steps/Innocent Bystander

Giant Steps / Innocent Bystander is an independent Yarra Valley based winery owned by Phil Sexton. Phil has had a long career in brewing and winemaking including founding Matilda Bay Brewing, Devils Lair Winery (Margaret River), and co-founding Little Creatures Brewing in Fremantle. In 1996 Phil sold Devils Lair to relocate to the Yarra Valley, where he purchased a beautiful 75-acre, north facing hillside site alongside one of his winegrowing mentors, Yarra Yering.

The single vineyard Giant Steps wines represent Phil’s passion for restrained, cool climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. At the winery, the winemaking team also produce a range of high quality, interesting varietals and blends from nearby vineyards in the Yarra Valley and central Victoria under their Innocent Bystander label. The new cellar door facility opened in September 2006 and features a wood fired pizza oven, small bakery, coffee roaster, beer on tap and more!

Giant Steps wines are produced exclusively from grapes grown on single vineyard sites in the Yarra Valley, including the Sexton’s own vineyard and a number of long-term contracted and supervised vineyards. The grapes are grown fastidiously in the vineyard and vinified with minimal intervention so that each wine is a faithful expression of site vintage and culture. The focus for Innocent Bystander, released in 2003, is to produce quality, flavour-driven wines from carefully selected vineyards in Australia, concentrating on Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and emerging grape varieties and interesting blends, such as Pinot Gris, Sangiovese and Shiraz Viognier.