Voyager Estate Introduces its New Wine Team
6 November 2009

Winemaking and viticultural leadership will chart a new course at Voyager Estate as long- term Viticulturist, Steve James, takes on the newly created role of ‘Manager – Winemaking and Viticulture’.

Voyager Estate General Manager, Alex Wright, said, “For many years we have been committed to drawing on the very best from our special site in Margaret River’s Stevens Valley. This is the next step in recognising the importance of the collaboration between our viticulture and winemaking. We are truly delighted to have such a great talent in Steve to lead this side of our business.” Under the new structure, Steve adds wine stewardship to his existing role as Viticulturist, which sees the leadership of winemaking and viticulture driven from one source. Steve’s team includes Winemaker and Winery Manager, Travis Lemm, and newly promoted Vineyard Manager, Glen Ryan.

 A graduate of the University of Melbourne, Steve James joined Voyager Estate in 1998 following five years at Stonier Wines in Mornington Peninsula and a two- year stint at Amberley in Margaret River. In his time at Voyager Estate, he has been responsible for developing a vineyard that does not simply grow grapes, but actually grows wine. Steve has pushed for technical improvements in both the vineyard and winery and has been singularly committed to following their progress through to bottle. Steve already plays a major role in blending, barrel selections and benchmarking for the Voyager Estate portfolio. He has excelled in the AWRI Advanced Wine Assessment Course and won the inaugural Margaret River Viticultural Excellence Award in 2007.

Wright further commented, “When our longstanding winemaker, Cliff Royle, moved on, our initial approach was to fill his position and maintain the existing structure. However, upon further reflection, we realised that appointing Steve to this new and creative role would allow us to bring winemaking and viticulture closer together, preserving the continuity of site knowledge and wine stewardship that have served Voyager Estate so well over the past decade.”

“Steve James has distinguished himself like no other viticulturist in the region. He has effectively been a part of the winemaking team since the beginning and is an almost permanent fixture in and around the winery. His maturity, wine passion and managerial expertise are the key attributes we have been seeking to lead the wine production team,” she added. Steve James commented, “Winemaking at Voyager Estate has always been a team effort and this new structure allows that team to continue to work together even more closely. I am very excited
to see what we can achieve in the coming vintages.”

Steve James and Travis Lemm recently completed a series of Chardonnay and Cabernet masterclasses as part of an east coast roadshow. They will both continue to present the wines of Voyager Estate to trade, media and consumers, alongside other members of the production team, the sales and marketing team, and the Wright family.