Dedication finalist: Leading the charge on winemaking success

THERE is an art to making wine. And if anyone should know that, it is dynamo farmer Robyn Lewis.

Decision-maker: Robyn Lewis is dedicated to producing wine and promoting the industry.

THERE is an art to making wine. And if anyone should know that, it is dynamo farmer Robyn Lewis.

SHINE 2017 FINALIST

DEDICATION

ROBYN LEWIS

WINE MAKER AND AGRITOURISM CHAMPION

CAMBRIDGE, TASMANIA

Robyn has made the astronomical leap from curating Tasmania’s world-renowned MONA art museum to making and selling award-winning wine on her Cambridge property, Milford.

And she has done it the hardest of ways, losing her beloved husband Charlie earlier this year.

For most, that would be enough to call it a day, but not Robyn.

She was determined to carry on the tradition of Charlie’s ancestors, who started grain trading on that same property way back in the 1820s, then establishing a Southdown sheep stud in 1870s. It is now also home to a vibrant vineyard.

It was not a legacy to be taken lightly. But tackle it she did, closing the sheep stud to concentrate on wine. And such is her passion for wine, she has created VisitVineyards.com, a digital wine and food travel guide that has more than 50,000 subscribers globally and attracts more than a million visitors annually.

She admits it’s a lot of work keeping a farm operating, saying that despite the historic property being picturesque, “you can’t eat beauty”.

“If I see a void I fill it. My family has a saying, ‘every day has a thousand pockets’, and people who get things done fill those pockets.

“I also make a conscious decision to never worry about anything I can’t control. You can plan for different scenarios, but it’s no point in worrying until it happens — 99 per cent of things people worry about never happen.”

Oxford-educated Robyn says she is encouraged by the growing number of women who are the sole or equal decision-makers in farms. “However, I think women aren’t given sufficient credit for what they do. Running an agribusiness is a partnership. Both partners should be treated equally.

“I would like to see women given more recognition and we get rid of the garbage of consigning women to just being ‘the farmer’s wife’.”

Dedicated is an apt description of Robyn. She is striving to create a successful business — something “positive” her daughter may one day want to be involved in. And there is little doubt she will achieve her goal.

“I am determined to succeed.”