Meet a new name on the Yarra Valley wine scene: e'Stellar

There is a new name in the Yarra Valley wine firmament.  

e’Stellar is owned by members of one of Australia’s highest-profile wine families but will operate independently. 

Joe and Cathy Casella, of the Australian winemaking empire Casella Family Brands, began their Yarra journey in 2017 when they purchased Graeme Miller’s historic Dixons Creek site. 

In 2025, they added the neighboring Mandala vineyards, unifying the two properties into a single 40-hectare project named e’Stellar Estate. 

It is a stand alone personal project for the couple, managed completely separately from the corporate Casella Family Brands portfolio. 

The project builds on the legacy of the Henkell family, who first planted the celebrated Mandala site in 1980, and the neighbouring Dixons Creek Estate established by Jimmy Watson Trophy winner Graeme Miller. 

Steering the project is winemaker and GM Martin Siebert, whose background includes vintage work in Burgundy and two decades at top-tier Yarra Valley producers Yarra Yering, Coldstream Hills, and Tokar Estate. 

Siebert found a 15-year-old museum sparkling base, resting on lees, in storage, from the original Graeme Miller days, which has been disgorged and released as the limited e’Stellar Legacy Sparkling ($60). 

While reviewing old records, Siebert unearthed invoices indicating half of that parcel of sparkling wine was quietly resting on lees at the contract facility. Upon requesting a sample bottle to be disgorged for evaluation, Siebert and the team realized they were sitting on a vinous treasure,

There are 11 wines included in the first release, divided across two core tiers ($32 and $45): the e’ Range ($32): chardonnay, pinot noir, rosé, and cabernet syrah and e’Stellar Range ($45): chardonnay, pinot noir, syrah, cabernet sauvignon, blanc de blancs, and sparkling rosé NV. 

A new cellar door by Q+Co Design Studio is currently under construction for a launch in the coming months, the estate's commercial footprint is already anchored by the property's existing dining establishment: DiVino Ristorante.

Operating under the new e’Stellar banner, the Italian pavilion has called this site home for seven years and welcomes guests from Wednesday through Sunday for lunch and Friday and Saturday evenings for dinner.

The debut 2025 e’Stellar Estate wines are now available online, before the cellar door experiences open to the public in the coming months.

More info at https://www.estellarestate.com.au/.

The old and the new: [yellow tail] tweaks after 20 years

The Casella family - the people behind best-selling Australian wine brand [yellow tail] - are not keen on rapid change.

Alterations to [yellow tail] branding and labelling have been minimal since the range was launched back in 2001.

But [yellow tail] has unveiled global plans to refresh its image. 

It marks "the most significant packaging revitalisation since the brand’s launch in 2001, ensuring [yellow tail] remains an easy and relevant choice for consumers worldwide".

When [yellow tail] landed its packaging broke away from the traditional, often serious wine branding of the time, making wine more fun. The ‘Roo’ logo stood out and identified the brand as proudly Australian. 

“Our updated packaging is more than just a fresh look; it reflects our evolution while reaffirming our commitment to quality and approachability,” said Arina Serra, global senior brand manager for [yellow tail]. 

“We’ve retained the elements that our consumers love while refining the details to create an even stronger visual impact on the shelf.”

New communications campaigns will launch in key markets, including the UK, US and Australia.

The rollout for the new packaging, as shown in the old/new image (top) will start in UK and European markets right away, the US and Canada from June, Australia from July and Asia in the final quarter of the year.