Tasmanian wine producers join together for a good cause

Three winemakers in Northern Tasmania have launched a collaborative wine brand that aims to raise funds and do good for the community. 

The trio  - Cynthea Semmens (Marion’s Vineyard), Rebecca Duffy (Holm Oak Wines) and Fran Austin (Delamere) - got together to consider how they could give more back to their region.

Inspired by their belief that they could have a greater impact together than individually, the idea was born to create a Tasmanian pinot noir blend of fruit from from their vineyards – Marion’s, Holm Oak and Delamere – and donate the funds from the wine sales to a community or individual experiencing hardship.

The name of the wine brand, Loveliness, refers to the collective noun for a group of ladybirds.

Cynthea Semmens explains: “These humble creatures are highly beneficial in vineyards. Healthy populations of them are a sign of natural resilience and a balanced ecosystem”.

“We see this as the perfect metaphor for what we are aiming to highlight: community is the foundation stone of our society. When we work together, we, too, can be a powerful force for good.”

The charity-focused brand has emerged in a year filled with difficulties for many. Fran Austin from Delamere views this as “somewhat serendipitous”.

“Never have we seen a year when kindness and generosity has been more important,” she said.

“It felt lucky, with the turmoil we’ve all been dealing with, that we had something already underway that offered some help, however humble the gesture might be.”

While the main purpose in creating the pinot noir blend was to provide a donation of financial support, it was imperative to the group that they created a wine of exceptional quality in keeping with their high winemaking standards.

“This wine was made with the same passion and dedication that we apply to making all of our individual branded wines,” said Bec Duffy of Holm Oak.

“It was fascinating putting the wine together. We’ve created a wine that truly is greater than the sum of its parts.”

For the 2019 Loveliness Pinot Noir, the label design was generously donated by Georgie Armstrong, labels by Multi-Colour Corporation Labels (MCC) and boxes by Cospak and photography by Renee Hodskiss.

As for the future, the trio’s hope is that, each year, other wine industry makers will join the collective to donate wine, collaborate on the final blend and build on the foundations they’ve started.

Funds from the sale of the 2019 Loveliness Pinot Noir will be donated to Vaughn Dell’s family.

Vaughn, a well-known Tasmanian vigneron, passed away unexpectedly in the early hours of May 19, 2020 at home on the Sinapius Vineyard.

He was only 39 and left behind his wife Linda and young daughters Esme and Clementine. All proceeds from 2019 vintage wine sales will be donated to the trust account set up to help Vaughn’s daughters now and in the future.

The 2019 Loveliness Pinot Noir will be available for sale in single bottles, three-packs ($150 plus shipping) on the Marion’s, Holm Oak and Delamere websites.