Giant Steps has built its reputation around cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with the vineyards of Victoria's Yarra Valley at the centre of the range.
Regional Yarra Valley wines provide the starting point, while a series of single-vineyard releases explores the differences between individual sites including Applejack, Sexton, Primavera, Tarraford and Bastard Hill.
Rather than treating Pinot Noir and Chardonnay as fixed house styles, Giant Steps uses them to explore differences in elevation, soil, exposure and vineyard character. The result is a range that becomes increasingly interesting when the wines are tasted across sites as well as vintages.
Giant Steps & the Yarra Valley
The Yarra Valley provides the foundation for Giant Steps.
Its cool climate, varied elevations and range of vineyard sites have made the region particularly important for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, varieties that respond clearly to differences in site and growing conditions.
Giant Steps works across those differences rather than seeking to make every vineyard taste the same.
The regional Yarra Valley Pinot Noir and Chardonnay bring fruit from across the region together, providing an introduction to the Giant Steps style before the individual vineyard wines narrow the focus to a particular place.
Giant Steps Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir is central to the Giant Steps range.
The Yarra Valley Pinot Noir provides the regional expression, while Applejack, Primavera, Sexton and Bastard Hill allow individual vineyards to be explored separately.
Across the range, the emphasis is on clarity, perfume, freshness and structure rather than sheer weight.
For anyone wanting to understand Giant Steps in greater depth, comparing Pinot Noir from several vineyards within the same vintage is one of the most revealing ways to approach the collection.
Giant Steps Chardonnay
Chardonnay provides the other major thread through the Giant Steps range.
The regional Yarra Valley Chardonnay sits alongside single-vineyard wines from Sexton, Tarraford, Applejack and Bastard Hill, moving from a broader expression of the region towards individual sites.
As with Pinot Noir, the interest lies in the differences between vineyards. Elevation, aspect, soil and growing conditions influence the balance of fruit, acidity, texture and structure from one site to another.
Together, the Chardonnay releases provide a detailed view of both Giant Steps and the diversity of the Yarra Valley.
Applejack Vineyard
Applejack Vineyard is one of the key sites in the Giant Steps single-vineyard collection.
Located in the upper Yarra Valley, the vineyard's cooler position provides an important environment for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Applejack Pinot Noir has become one of the most recognised wines within the Giant Steps range, with the collection extending across multiple vintages and, in selected years, large-format magnums.
The addition of Applejack Vineyard Chardonnay allows the site to be viewed through both of Giant Steps' principal varieties.
Sexton Vineyard
Sexton Vineyard is another cornerstone of the Giant Steps range, producing both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
The site gives Giant Steps the opportunity to interpret the same vineyard through two varieties, making the wines particularly useful when exploring how place translates differently through Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Our range includes Sexton Vineyard wines across multiple vintages, alongside selected 1.5L magnum releases.
Primavera Vineyard
Primavera Vineyard Pinot Noir adds another distinct Yarra Valley site to the Giant Steps collection.
Rather than being blended into a broader regional expression, fruit from Primavera is bottled separately to preserve the character of the vineyard.
Our collection spans multiple Primavera vintages, making it possible to explore not only vineyard character but the influence of different growing seasons on the same site.
Tarraford Vineyard
Tarraford Vineyard Chardonnay forms part of Giant Steps' detailed exploration of Yarra Valley Chardonnay.
It sits alongside Sexton, Applejack and Bastard Hill as a distinct single-vineyard expression, providing another point of comparison within a variety that can respond particularly clearly to differences in site.
For Chardonnay drinkers, these individual vineyard wines are where the Giant Steps range moves beyond regional style and into a more detailed study of place.
Bastard Hill Vineyard
Bastard Hill Vineyard extends the single-vineyard range through both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Its inclusion gives the Giant Steps collection another opportunity to examine a single site through the contrasting structures of white and red Burgundy varieties.
Alongside Applejack and Sexton, it also reinforces one of the most interesting aspects of Giant Steps: the range is not simply organised around varieties, but around vineyards.
Beyond the Single-Vineyard Wines
While Pinot Noir and Chardonnay dominate, the broader Giant Steps range is not confined to those classic single-variety expressions.
The Yarra Valley LDR Pinot Noir Syrah brings Pinot Noir and Syrah together in a lighter-framed red, while the Yarra Valley Rosé provides a fresher seasonal expression.
These wines sit comfortably alongside the more serious single-vineyard releases while offering a different entry point into Giant Steps.
Beyond the Yarra Valley
Although the Yarra Valley remains central to Giant Steps, the range can also extend beyond its home region.
Coal River Pinot Noir takes Giant Steps to Tasmania's Coal River Valley, applying the producer's focus on cool-climate Pinot Noir to a different Australian landscape.
It makes an interesting counterpoint to the Yarra Valley vineyard wines and broadens the Giant Steps story beyond a single region.
Regional Wines & Single Vineyards
The Giant Steps range is particularly easy to approach in two levels.
The Yarra Valley Chardonnay and Pinot Noir provide the regional view: wines that introduce the varieties and the broader Giant Steps style.
The individual vineyard wines then narrow the lens. Applejack, Sexton, Primavera, Tarraford and Bastard Hill allow site to take a more prominent role.
Neither approach is inherently better. Together, they show the difference between understanding a region as a whole and examining the individual vineyards within it.
Giant Steps in Magnum
Selected Giant Steps wines are also released in 1.5L magnum.
Our range includes large-format releases from vineyards such as Applejack and Sexton, providing another format for cellaring, collecting or serving at the table.
Availability is limited and varies by vineyard and vintage.
Shop Giant Steps Wines at Kent Street Cellars
Explore Giant Steps wines, from Yarra Valley Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Rosé to single-vineyard releases from Applejack, Sexton, Primavera, Tarraford and Bastard Hill.
Our collection includes current releases alongside selected earlier vintages and large formats, with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay at the centre of the range.
Delivery is available Australia-wide, with same-day delivery also available across eligible Sydney metropolitan areas.
