Our Story

“Delamere represents to me the opportunity to produce wines from the vineyard through to the glass, working alongside family with some of the finest quality fruit in the country.”

— Shane Holloway

Shane Holloway & Fran Austin: co-owner/winemakers

Shane’s official foray into winemaking took place in 2001, although the seed was planted many years earlier when his family established their Adelaide Hills vineyard. A previous career path (marine biology and aquaculture) brought him to Tasmania where he took up a vintage cellarhand position to help pay the rent whilst undertaking post-graduate research. 

Two weeks into harvest and he was hooked! From his new home base in Tasmania, Shane completed the Adelaide University post-graduate degree in winemaking and embarked on vintages in the Adelaide Hills, Yarra Valley and Oregon (USA). The passionate and dynamic winemaking community in Tasmania, and the enormous potential for discovery, lured him back. 

Fran joined Shane in their Delamere Vineyard business in 2011. Relocating to Tasmania from her home state of Western Australia a decade earlier to pursue a passion for cool climate wines, Fran’s interest in Champagne style wines trace back to her days studying winemaking at Adelaide University. With many years of winemaking experience in top wine regions around the world, including Burgundy, Oregon, Yarra Valley and the Adelaide Hills, Fran chose to settle in Tasmania due to the unparalleled fruit quality. Who would have predicted a girl from Kalgoorlie would end up making cool climate wine in the apple isle?  Not many! But certainly there is no place Fran would rather be.

Fran was the 2005 Gourmet Traveller Young Winemaker of the Year, 2009 Len Evans Tutorial Scholar and 2016 Don Martin Fellow.

Close planted, on the side of a steep freezing cold hill, Delamere is a vineyard that demands to be managed 100% by hand.

Delamere Vineyard is planted exclusively to Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Meunier on rich ironstone soils. The deep red Ferrosol soils offer great fertility, excellent drainage, and strong moisture retention, alleviating the need for irrigation. The combination of soil and site is perfectly suited to these three noble Champagne cultivars.

The vineyard was established at 7,500 vines per hectare and is cane-pruned using a vertical shoot-position trellis system, with a very low fruiting wire at just 60 cm above the ground. The low yield per vine, combined with reflective heat from the ironstone soils, produces wines with exceptional depth of flavour and ripe, well-developed tannins. Increasing vine age and the resulting natural balance continue to underpin the consistent production of wines with great structure and harmony.

The Pipers River region in northeast Tasmania enjoys a significant climatic advantage that is unique in Australia: an exceptionally low diurnal range. This temperature stability results from a rare alignment of geographical influences.

The waters of Bass Strait temper the warm northerly winds, while the cool southerlies gain warmth as they traverse the island. Cool conditions paired with generous sunshine hours help retain delicate aromatics in the fruit. The frosty, sometimes wild winters give way to clear, crisp, blue-sky days through the growing season, allowing fruit to ripen slowly and evenly – preserving the vibrant acidity essential for premium cool-climate wines.

With the first harvests of Meunier now underway at Delamere, we are excited to begin incorporating this variety into our Non-Vintage Cuvées in the years ahead, further deepening the expression and complexity of our sparkling wines. 

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Clones

Pinot Noir Original plantings

  • 8048 Lighter Style wines, High yielding, Late ripening Originated from University California Davis
  • 0013 Loose Bunches, High yielding, Originated from Giesenhiem
  • D5V12 Limit yield for best quality. Originated from University California Davis
  • MV6 Low yieding, rich fruit character — Mid season ripening Originated from Australia

Pinot Noir New plantings

  • 115 Lower yield, small berries, leading wine group, early ripening. Originated from Dijion
  • 114 Lower yield, small berries, leading wine group, early ripening. Originated from Dijion
  • 777 Lower yield, leading wine group, early ripening. Originated from Dijion

Chardonnay Old Plantings

  • Penfold 58 Small berries (hen and chicken), concentrated flavour and texture with fine structure and long palate. Most likely originated from Penfolds Wybong vineyard, SA.

Chardonnay New Plantings

  • 1IOV1 High yielding medium sugars, mid to late ripening Originated from University California Davis
  • 76 Moderate yielding superior sugars, aromatic fine wines, Originated from Dijion
  • 95 Moderate yielding superior sugars, full rich wines. Originated from Dijion
  • 277 High yielding medium sugars, balanced aromatic wines, early ripening Originated from Dijion