Fellowship of the vins

When Linda Morice and Vaughn Dell bought the old Golders Vineyard at Pipers Brook in 2005, the couple couldn't wait to settle down and make their own mark on the property. Just 23 years old, Dell had devoted almost half his lifetime to Aussie Rules football. 

First, as a hard-charging defender with the Burnie Dockers, and later as an AFL schools development officer. 

Dell had energy to burn.

Over the next 15 years, he and Morice rode the highs and lows of growing grapes and making wine in the challenging cool-climate conditions of Tasmania's North East.

Little-known Golders became little-known Sinapius. And when little-known Sinapius became the Sinapius that everyone was talking about, that's when the couple's passion project shifted into top gear.

Dell still had energy to burn. Until suddenly there wasn't any.

On 19 May 2020, Vaughn Dell tragically died from a medical condition, at home on the vineyard he shared with Morice and their young daughters Esmé and Clementine. He would have turned 45 next month.

This month sees Linda, Esmé and Clementine teaming up with industry body Wine Tasmania to launch the Vaughn Dell Scholarship in his memory.

The scholarship is a new initiative, offering a total grant of up to $10,000 to enable wine industry professionals based in Tasmania to undertake study-based travel. The funding will either be awarded to a single recipient or divided among multiple successful candidates, depending upon the quality and scope of the applications received.

The 2026 program is being offered for travel to be undertaken between July 2026 and June 2027. Expressions of interest for the scholarship close on 30 May 2026.

Applications will be assessed during June, with scholarship outcomes being made known by 30 June 2026. 

Wine Tasmania CEO Sheralee Davies said the State's wine community "lost a much loved and respected friend when Vaughn suddenly passed away.

"Vaughn had such a big presence and was so well respected across the wine community. With Linda's support, we hope this new scholarship program recognises and builds on Vaughn's desire to always learn and elevate the wine offering in Tasmania.

"He was never one to do things the easy way, or to settle and be a follower, with his curiosity, positive attitude, determination and generosity serving as an inspiration for many."

Davies also noted that Dell had been the beneficiary of a travel scholarship himself.

In 2017, he was the recipient of the Dr Don Martin Sustainable Viticulture Fellowship. The new fellowship bearing Dell's name operates in a similar manner.

Dell's $10,000 fellowship was made possible by a generous bequest to the Alcorso Foundation some 10 years earlier by the retired botanist and former CSIRO officer-in-charge in Tasmania.

CSIRO connections had brought Martin into the orbit of Moorilla Estate founder Claudio Alcorso during the mid-1960s. They soon became firm friends. The leading research scientist eventually took on the reins of Moorilla Estate winemaker between 1965 and 1983. His was the original Tasmanian wine 'side-hustle.'

Martin's professional expertise was in long-term storage of Tasmanian apples. He wisely helped Alcorso access some of CSIRO's wine and viticulture resources (and know-how) located interstate.

Martin died in 2014, aged 95.

The Alcorso Foundation's first Dr Don Martin Sustainable Viticulture Fellowship was granted in 2011. 

While acknowledging the Foundation's generosity in supporting fellowship recipients between 2011 and 2018, Davies noted the on-going value of such programs of support.

"This program is particularly important as the Tasmanian wine sector continues to grow in an ever-changing and challenging environment," she added.

"This new scholarship will help the Tasmanian wine sector keep innovating, learning, adapting and excelling." 

This year's inaugural recipient will be walking in the shoes of a giant.

The 4.3ha Sinapius vineyard on Bridport Road bears little resemblance to the humble development Morice and Dell purchased some two decades ago.

Carefully managed Pinot Noir (14 clones) and Chardonnay (11 clones) now rub shoulders with lesser amounts of Riesling (9 clones) and various plots of Gewürztraminer, Grüner Veltliner, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Gamay and Ribolla Gialla.

They stand as a testament to the couple's longstanding pursuit of excellence and innovation.

The vineyard sprang into life in 1990 under the ownership of Francois Richardson. The property adjoins Delamere Vineyard, established in 1983 by Francois' brother and sister-in-law, Dr Richard and Dallas Richardson.

The Richardsons' green-fingered matriarch Kathleen was born into the Golder family in England in 1920. Her grandfather had been gardener at Peckforton Castle in Cheshire. It seemed only fitting the Golder name should be attributed to the small block of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir that Francois planted along with his family.

Ownership passed into the hands of former architect Richard Crabtree in 1994. Golders Vineyard won a smattering of wine show awards in the early 2000s.

Dell and Morice's ownership followed a precedent set by the Richardsons. They duly renamed their vineyard. 

Sinapius  was chosen in honour of a branch in Morice's family tree.

The couple soon found themselves grappling with some of nature's harshest challenges. A summer bushfire and a powdery mildew infection welcomed in their inaugural 2006 vintage. In the following year, Dell decided to chance his arm at winemaking, undertaking the job at Holm Oak under the watchful eyes of the talented Bec Duffy.

As if that wasn't enough to take on, Dell and Morice pulled out almost a hectare of the old 2ha vineyard and close-planted it to new, very carefully selected clones of Pinot Noir. In subsequent years, they continued their visionary strategy with Chardonnay as well, even to the point of changing some row orientations by 90 degrees.

Dell admitted with a certain sheepishness, "I guess we really didn't need to do all that we've done, but we just can't help ourselves.

"When you're as passionate about this site as we are, you want to do all that you can to make it perform to its full potential."

The Pipers Brook setting eventually took on a new home the couple built from the ground up. Vital cellar door and winery infrastructure was created and made to operate like a well-oiled machine.

The Dr Don Martin Sustainable Viticulture Fellowship awarded in 2017 gave Dell and Morice a brief respite from winter pruning and an opportunity to spend three weeks travelling through France's iconic wine regions of Alsace, Burgundy and Beaujolais.

The latter had been a key focus for the couple since they first added four clones of Gamay to their vineyard back in 2011.

Fifteen years on, the variety now forms the basis of Sinapius Esmé Rouge, a wonderfully vibrant and attractive middleweight red wine that offers immediate drinkability.

Every vintage released to date – starting with the 2019 Esmé – has been given gold medal points (95 or 96) by the Halliday Wine Companion. 

Dell was clearly a gifted wine tutor as well. His premature death set in motion another Sinapius legacy – the highly accomplished winemaking of Linda Morice.

These past six years must have seemed like a whirlwind for the Dell family. Praise be that some of that energy will now put breath into the sails of some new Tasmanian winemaking talent.

Further information about the Vaughn Dell Scholarship can be found here.

Last page update: 20 May 2026