Winemaker

Stefan Heppelmann

Discipline: Winemaker
Venue: Château Clamens · Winery

Portrait of Stefan Heppelmann

i. Biography

Owner of Château Clamens in Fronton, France, since 2012, Stefan Heppelmann came to wine through a route built on management training, consulting, and then a clear read on place. The business background gave him structure; the move into Fronton gave him the work. When he says Fronton “was for me an obvious choice and Château Clamens a revelation,” the claim lands as a practical one: the site was not a detour, but a fit that made sense quickly.

The Path

Before Château Clamens entered his life, Stefan Heppelmann’s work sat in the disciplined world of strategy and finance. Training at ESB Business School, Reutlingen University and NEOMA Business School led into an early role as M&A analyst at LCL (1998–1999), then into Stern Stewart & Co. In Munich, BY, DE (1999–2004), where he worked as Berater and Projektleiter. The sequence shows a formation built on analysis, execution, and the kind of attention to process that translates well across industries. That same structure now runs across two fields. Since 2005, Stefan Heppelmann has been Geschäftsführer of Stern Stewart & Co. and Senior Partner of Stern Stewart Industries, while since 2012 he has been propriétaire-récoltant of Château Clamens. The titles sit in different registers, but the underlying work is similar: setting direction, managing timing, and taking responsibility for outcomes. In business, the medium is organization; in wine, it is season, site, and the pace of harvest.

The Work Today

At Château Clamens, the first point of judgment is visual. “The first thing I would judge every wine on is its looks,” Stefan Heppelmann has said. That places appearance at the front of evaluation, before any deeper reading of structure or balance. It is a practical way to approach wine: start with what presents itself, then move inward. He also describes the production window in compressed terms. “Typically it's in 20 minutes from the vineyard, from the harvest to being pressed.” That short span defines the discipline of the work: fruit moves fast, and the handoff from vineyard to cellar has to be exact. For an estate in Fronton, the timing underscores how little margin exists between picking and pressing, and how much of the wine’s shape begins in those first minutes.

Career - Geschäftsführer — Stern Stewart & Co., Munich, BY, DE (2005–present) - Senior Partner — Stern Stewart Industries, Munich, BY, DE (2005–present) - Propriétaire-récoltant — Château Clamens, Fronton, France (2012–present) - M&A Analyst — LCL (1998–1999) - Berater and Projektleiter — Stern Stewart & Co., Munich, BY, DE (1999–2004) Education: ESB Business School, Reutlingen University; NEOMA Business School

Signature

Stefan Heppelmann’s signature wines include Château Clamens Rosé, Château Clamens Rouge, Le Petit Clamens, Julie, and Jules. The range suggests a cellar built to hold more than one expression under the same roof, with each label carrying the Château Clamens name into a different register. As a set, they point to consistency at the estate level and variation in how that identity is framed bottle to bottle.

In Their Words “Typically it's in 20 minutes from the vineyard, from the harvest to being pressed.” “The first thing I would judge every wine on is its looks.”

FAQ What is Stefan Heppelmann's current role? As of 2026, Stefan Heppelmann is Owner. Where did Stefan Heppelmann train or study? Stefan Heppelmann trained at ESB Business School, Reutlingen University and NEOMA Business School.