Small Tasmanian Wine Brands Think Big
L-R: Linda Morice (Sinapius), Julian Allport (Moores Hill), Shane Holloway (Delamere), Fiona Weller (Moores Hill), Bec Duffy (Holm Oak), Fran Austin (Delamere), Tim Duffy (Holm Oak), Katrina Myburgh (Wines of Tasmania).
A group of iconic and reputable Tasmanian wine brand owners have formed a unique partnership, together with a locally based marketing specialist, to launch the online wine sales platform, Wines of Tasmania.
Each month, a selection of exceptional, rare and hard-to-find wines from Tasmania’s best wine producers are blind-tasted by a panel of wine industry experts. The best are then chosen to be included in a monthly subscription box. It’s about giving wine lovers around Australia, and the world, access to Tasmania’s benchmark wines.
The business was conceived out of the COVID-19 pandemic when the border to Tasmania closed and face-to-face cellar door sales essentially ceased. Katrina Myburgh, Founder and Managing Director of Wines of Tasmania said, “I saw an opportunity to build a quality umbrella brand that would select the finest wines, package them beautifully, and share them with someone who has not had much exposure to Tasmanian wine, knowing that they would be blown away, by every single bottle”.
Katrina pitched the idea to a group of Tasmanian wine industry leaders who joined Katrina to form the company Wines of Tasmania Families P/L: Fran Austin and Shane Holloway from Delamere Vineyards; Bec and Tim Duffy from Holm Oak; Linda Morice (and the late Vaughn Dell) from Sinapius; and Fiona Weller and Julian Allport from Moores Hill.
“It would only work if they [Delamere, Holm Oak, Sinapius, Moores Hill] agreed that the common goal was to build the reputation of the Tasmania wine industry and not just their individual brands, despite the flow-on effect from which they would benefit,” said Katrina. “Their direct involvement as reputable wine brands also provided the necessary credibility for other producers to get on board.”
Wines of Tasmania launched in September 2020 and has featured iconic Tasmanian wine brands including Dr-Edge, BelleBonne, Freycinet Vineyards, Derwent Estate, Mewstone, Marion’s Vineyard and Two Tonne Tasmania. Henskens Rankin, Pooley and Stefano Lubiana Wines are lined up to be included in the coming months.
Linda Morice, owner at Sinapius, commented, “When Katrina came to Vaughn and I earlier this year, we immediately thought it made sense. There was so much uncertainty as a fair amount of our wine sales are made through our cellar door. Without those tourists turning up on our doorstep, and the fact we don’t do a lot of marketing, we needed to find another way to get our wine out there. Vaughn was on board and we were excited at the prospect to work collaboratively with other like-minded, quality-focused and value-driven wine brands”.
Sadly, within a week of Vaughn and Linda agreeing to join Wines of Tasmania, Vaughn passed away in his sleep, at just 39 years of age, from an undiagnosed heart condition.
“Safe to say, this year has been really tough,” said Linda. “I have my days, that’s for sure. But the Wines of Tasmania business has helped me focus on continuing the Sinapius legacy that Vaughn and I created. Our brand is very much aligned with Wines of Tasmania – rare, select, hard-to-find, exceptional wines. That’s us. We’re not big. We’re not found everywhere, either. We simply want to make the best possible wine and ensure wine lovers have access to it.”
Fran Austin, co-owner and winemaker at Delamere Vineyards could immediately see the benefit of bringing like-minded industry colleagues together. “There’s that saying ‘we’re stronger, together’ which I think sums up Wines of Tasmania. So often we get bogged down in the detail of our own businesses and can’t see the bigger picture.
“We all have similar views and values when it comes to growing, making and promoting quality Tasmanian wine, so when we’ve come to the table in recent months to build the business plan, we’ve been able share our own experiences from the past couple of decades and solve a lot more than if we were trying to achieve that on our own,” said Fran.
Currently Wines of Tasmania is geared at a niche domestic audience, however, there are plans to take it further into Asia Pacific, and beyond. “When I used to share Tasmanian wine with my colleagues from overseas, I’d always get a similar reaction. ‘Where is it from? Tasmania? Where’s that?’,” said Katrina. “It baffled me that despite their knowledge of good quality wine and their exposure to prominent brands and products from around the world, Tasmanian wine was not on their radar. I’m determined to change that.”
About Wines of Tasmania
Wines of Tasmania is an online wine retailer that selects the most exceptional wine from Tasmania’s best wine producers. Each month a new selection of wines is hand-picked and then beautifully boxed and delivered. Each bottle comes with a necktag explaining a little bit about the wine and the winery from which it came. All wines are blind-tasted by a panel of reputable wine industry experts. The Wines of Tasmania website shares stories about the wines, the craft of winemaking and about the people who made them. It’s that intimate, personal, cellar door visit, all wrapped up in a monthly subscription. For more information, visit www.winesoftasmania.com.au
About Katrina Myburgh
Katrina Myburgh has been living in Launceston, Tasmania, for the past 13 years. Until earlier this year, she was Head of Marketing, Asia Pacific, for Weber Shandwick, one of the world’s leading marketing and communications solutions firms. During her 17-year tenure, Katrina was responsible for developing and driving the marketing communications strategy that spanned 18 offices across Asia Pacific. Katrina is Founder, Managing Director of Wines of Tasmania, a company conceived during 2020 in response to the impact COVID-19 had on the Tasmanian wine industry.
About Delamere
Delamere, established in 1982, is one of the older vineyards still existing in Tasmania. Owned by husband-and-wife duo Shane Holloway and Fran Austin, these two have more than 40+ years’ combined winemaking experience from around the world. Fran was Gourmet Traveller’s Young Winemaker of the Year in 2005. Over the decades, Delamere has carved out a reputation as one of Australia’s most compelling sites for pinot noir and chardonnay and is part of a rare breed that grow and produce their own sparkling wines, from 100% estate fruit. Delamere is rated a Halliday five red-star winery.
About Holm Oak
Holm Oak is north of Launceston in the Tamar Valley and owned by Bec and Tim Duffy. With 18 years’ experience gained in Australia and the US, Bec, the winemaker, is well and truly ensconced in her winery domain. Tim is the viticulturist, a third-generational grape grower and agronomist. Estate grown and sustainably made on site. Holm Oak is a five red-star rated winery by Halliday Wine Companion and most recently received 96 points for its 2019 Arneis and 95 points each for its 2018 Pinot Noir and 2017 Sparkling Rosé.
About Moores Hill
Estate grown, made & bottled, Moores Hill is home to Tasmania’s first 100% solar powered winery. The winery is off-grid for power, water and waste. Operated by husband and wife team Julian Allport (winemaker) and Fiona Weller, they are supported by co-owners, Tim and Sheena High. Moores Hill is on the western side of the Tamar Valley, just north of Launceston and has been recognised as a silver finalist in the Tasmanian Tourism Awards, named Launceston Chamber of Commerce ‘Business of the Year’, and in the 2021 Halliday Wine Companion Awards received a ‘Best of the Best Award’ and 97 points for its 2019 Pinot Gris.
About Sinapius
Sinapius Wines is in Pipers River, about 50 minutes north of Launceston which is in the north of the State. Sinapius is uniquely planted at a high density ensuring low yields are produced per vine, which, combined with meticulous vineyard management and low intervention winemaking, makes Sinapius especially unique. Sinapius Wines are often found on the wine lists of high-end restaurants across the country and frequently receive high ratings and reviews. In the 2021 Halliday Wine Companion Awards, the Sinapius Enclave Pinot Noir received 99 points and the 2018 Close Planted Pinot Noir 98 points. The winery was also included in the Top 100 Wineries in Australia in 2020 in The Real Review and is a Halliday five red-star winery.