Cellar Door Conversations: Fran
Meet Fran Austin
To meet Fran Austin, owner, grower and winemaker at Delamere Vineyards, you might describe her as slight, petite, with a gentle, delicate demeanor. In fact, when people meet her out of context, many have found it unfathomable that she owns and runs a wine company! But don’t be fooled, there’s more than meets the eye to Fran and she’s certainly an old hand when it comes to working with winemaking machinery and dealing with the harsh Australian climate while maintaining her vineyard. In fact, she’s far stronger and tougher than most people you’ll ever meet.
Has Tassie always been home?
No, I actually grew up in Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. Yep! True story. I moved to Tasmania in 2002 from Perth, Western Australia, to set up and run a winery for one of Australia’s major wine corporations. I thought it would be a unique three to five year opportunity to gain wine industry experience before moving home again. Instead, I met my future husband, Shane Holloway, and as they say, the rest is history. Shane took over Delamere Vineyard in 2007. After I took maternity leave in 2010 and had a break from the corporate world, I ended up joining him. We’ve been working together now for 10 years (wow, time flies!) and I think it’s safe to say we’ve found our groove.
To that point, how does it work between you and Shane? You’re both winemakers, right?
Indeed! Shane would say “We work as a team, and we do it Fran’s way”. Happy wife, happy life, right? But actually, the truth is, Shane does the lion’s share of the day-to-day stuff – we have a three-year old and a 10-year old, so I’m largely preoccupied with those two little rays of sunshine, especially having no family in Tasmanian to help out. My contribution is more to do with the big picture strategy, working with Shane to guide the overall direction of the business. I also love lists and spreadsheets so I guess planning is another thing I bring to the party.
Is winemaking what you’ve always wanted to do?
As a kid, I wanted to be everything from a ballerina to a bricklayer. I was good at science, but not a very focused student. My Mum suggested winemaking and I thought it sounded like a great opportunity to combine science with creativity in a physical, ‘out-doorsy’, applied way. In the early 90’s Australia was at the start of a huge wine boom and didn’t have enough qualified winemakers to handle the growth, so a job was likely. But perhaps the best thing in my 17-year old mind was that Australian trained winemakers were being hired across Europe for their technical wine knowledge. I loved the idea of being able to travel with work and get to know a foreign place as part of the community, rather than as a tourist. So, I applied to the Adelaide University wine course in 1991. I found out I was accepted whilst on a 10-day course on the Leeuwin Trainee Sailing Ship in the middle of a huge storm somewhere between Albany and Esperance.
What’s the most unique aspect of producing wine in Tasmania?
Winemaking down here flies in the face of many of the basic principles of good Australian winemaking practice. Chilling, eliminating oxygen from the processing and juice clarification need to be re-thought, being mindful that ambient temperatures are much colder during harvest, the natural acidities are very high, and the concentration of aromatic flavour compounds are elevated.
How would you describe Delamere?
Delamere is founded on our passion to create wine that reflects a place (our vineyard), time (each season), and culture. Our brand values revolve around authenticity, family, place, artistry, purity, knowledge, enjoyment and the journey.
Delamere wines are 100% owned and grown by us. We employ a technical wine style (Methodè Champenoise) with ambitious forward plans to grow and evolve.
What do you want people to experience when they taste your wines?
We people to be inspired and intrigued by the quality of our wines, and by the years of work and thoughtfulness that goes into crafting them. We want them to feel a sense of trust in us as we bring them to a deeper enjoyment of wine through knowledge. Mostly, we want them to feel welcomed into our world of wine, and to feel compelled to learn more and join us on our journey.
In career terms, where do you envisage yourself in ten years?
Driving a sports car with the top back, having a mid-life crisis, I expect. Stoli-and-a-Bolli anyone? No, honestly, I’ll still be making wine in Tasmania. I’ve been here 19 vintages so far, and each one has thrown out different challenges. I could stay here for the next 50 years and still be learning. And by then, the vineyards will really be hitting their straps.
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