Kylie Minogue's new wine release is set to be a hit

At an intimate lunch in the Yarra Valley, two tables of die-hard fans are overlooking rows of picturesque vines as they try a new wine made by the object of their admiration.

What makes this soiree special is that not only are they some of the first people to try the vintage, they are doing so while sitting with its maker, their idol and Australia’s own pop princess, Kylie Minogue.

Most would know her for her music, but Minogue is dancing to the beat of a new drum, or shall we say wine barrel, and bringing one of Victoria’s best wineries, De Bortoli, to the global stage. Minogue, of course, made her name on Neighbours, catapulted to pop stardom in the mid-1980s and reinvented herself and her music in each decade since, but in recent years she has begun seriously thinking about life beyond entertainment.

“Music is still number one for me and I look forward to doing more shows, but I am loving developing my brand in other markets too,” Minogue says.

Sure, there are plenty of opportunities to collaborate when you’re Kylie, but winemaking took her fancy – partially because of a love of wine from the south of France formed decades earlier, and partially because of her desire to work with De Bortoli.

“This is not about cutting corners or making business decisions for the sake of it,” Minogue says. “We got pedantic about details and I was adamant to have something I am proud to put my name to.

“Sometimes friends of mine who have tried a Kylie wine bottle are surprised at how good it tastes. Time and time again I tell them I know it’s amazing, we work hard with the best winemakers.”

Minogue first launched her wine label in 2020 with a rosé from France, a prosecco rosé from Italy and a chardonnay from Western Australia, in collaboration with Benchmark Drinks.

The latest in her stable of drops is a 2022 chardonnay and pinot noir made in collaboration with De Bortoli Wines in the Yarra Valley and set to be released this year. Joining forces with the reputed Victorian winery felt like a natural next step for Minogue after she moved back to Melbourne from the UK in 2021.

She’s the first to admit there’s plenty to learn about the wine industry, and leaves the process of winemaking to the experts, but she’s ever curious about the business and is as hands-on as she can be.

She made her first visit to De Bortoli winery in March 2021, getting to know the fourth-generation winemakers who are as committed to what they do as she is.

Alongside De Bortoli head winemaker Steve Webber and his wife Leanne De Bortoli, she added the finishing touches to the 2022 chardonnay, replacing the big oaky notes of yesteryear for a leaner renaissance of the white wine.

“Chardonnay is an exciting chapter for me, and partnering with a local winery is what really mattered,” Minogue says. “I love that De Bortoli is a Victorian and family-run business. That spoke to me and I have a lot of respect for what they do. “It’s a combination of their heritage connection and the fact they are still doing what they love that really hit the mark.”

While the foxy ladies of Fountain Gate liked to pour themselves a card-onnay – the tipple of choice for Kath & Kim in the early 2000s – Minogue wants to tout its more elegant profile.

“Chardonnay is never out of fashion,” Webber says. “Kath & Kim tried to make it unfashionable, but wine lovers never stopped drinking it. “We have kept our chardonnay at the top end, and the global trend shows that chardonnay sales are doing really well worldwide. “And with Kylie on board, we can really bring it into focus again.”

With 15 studio albums under her belt – seven of which made it to No. 1 on the ARIA charts in Australia (making her the first female to ever achieve this) – Minogue says there are some similarities between making a record and producing wine. Both are sensory, and a good ear and a good palate are not dissimilar.

“Wine is technical; it’s about what do we leave in and what do we take out?” she says. “By being at the winery I’ve been able to absorb the knowledge the team have and we get to discuss what I’d like the finished wine to taste like.

“I wanted wine that had accessibility; I wanted it to over-deliver. I want people to fall in love with it.”

It helps that De Bortoli has a large distribution platform. More than 90 sales reps take to the road around Australia selling the Kylie Minogue brand into stores and beyond.

Joining Minogue is her business partner, Benchmark Drinks head Paul Schaafsma, who has helped make celebrity wine chic with the likes of Sarah Jessica Parker and Graham Norton also perfecting their own vintages. Minogue hints she’d like to make a limited-release wine with De Bortoli in the future.

She’s also recently been interviewed for a film about the late Michael Gudinski that’s in the works with filmmaker and writer Paul Goldman, and her Instagram account shows her taking over NYLON magazine’s French edition while attending Valentino runway shows in Paris earlier this month.

Minogue admits moving back to Melbourne has made her feel sentimental about her hometown. She chose a Melbourne designer for her Darling fragrance campaign – a stunning pink tulle dress by Jason Grech, the couture king who is a regular go-to for her sister Dannii and who celebrates 20 years in the business this year.

“I just knew when I saw the dress it was the one to represent Darling’s comeback,” she says. “Nostalgia played a large part in the fragrance campaign and even more so with what happened the last few years [due to the pandemic].  I have looked at doing other fragrances but never was happy to press go on them.

“These projects excite me and there’s good stimulus because I learn about new worlds and it sets me on my next adventure.”