Franklin Tate Estates

This is the second winery established by Franklin and Heather Tate in 2010. In '07 they created Miles from Nowhere (see separate entry), but this is a quite separate venture. Franklin is a second-generation vigneron in Margaret River, with his parents, John and Toni Tate, pioneers in founding Evans & Tate in '74. Franklin was of course part of the establishment during the rapid growth of the winery from the 1990s until 2005. The lion's share of the plantings on their two vineyards (planted many years ago) are sauvignon blanc, semillon, chardonnay, shiraz and cabernet sauvignon, with minor plantings of verdelho, petit verdot and viognier. There are two tiers in the wine range: the Estate series and the Alexander's Vineyard Reserve range. Exports to the US, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. -JAMES HALLIDAY