Elli and Vicki Tutungi were at a dinner on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula a couple of years ago when they heard that one of the region’s best vineyards, Eldridge Estate, was on the market.

The couple don’t have a background in the wine industry – Elli is a cardiac anaesthetist, Vicki a former lawyer and corporate director. They also work together to develop innovative medical devices and are serious wine lovers. The dinner in question was being hosted by close friends, Steve Webber and Leanne De Bortoli, who run the well-known De Bortoli winery up in the Yarra Valley.