“Working for some larger companies, which had been around a while and perhaps lost a little of their passion and purpose, left me feeling creatively stifled,” says Davidson. “Throw in being a young woman not really being taken seriously by male co-workers, and I decided to start my own brand. Rather than bang my head against a wall trying to convince others to do things differently, I took all that energy into my side project and used it as creative fulfilment. It was good for my soul satisfaction.”
“I did my sums on a 225-litre barrel and then ended up getting a 300-litre barrel, so I had to top my pinot noir with whites… ‘Frida’ red and white blend was born. It turned out bloody delicious. We drank it in spring and summer that same year on the beach with friends. Now it’s my best seller!”
Davidson’s journey into wine began when she travelled through South Africa, Georgia, France and Italy, falling for food and wine in a big way. On that trip, she was armed with a geology degree from Adelaide University, which, after a couple of vintages in McLaren Vale, she later complemented with a viticulture and oenology degree from the same institution. A vintage in Canada followed, along with wine reconnaissance trips to the USA, Portugal and France.
When Davidson returned from British Columbia, she headed to Robe, but that was more to do with her then boyfriend and now husband, Tom, living there. “To be honest, it wasn’t a region that was on my radar,” she says. “It has been great for my winemaking, as it has ‘cleaned me up’, so to speak, and brought that discipline to my winemaking that perhaps I wouldn’t have had if I worked in a more experimental region. That combined with my adventurous and experimental nature has been a great combination, resulting in clean yet fun wines.”
Making wine on the Limestone Coast and perhaps even more so in the less well-known regions of Robe and Mount Benson has also come with considerable freedom with their laid-back vibe, says Davidson. “This has allowed me to feel pretty unrestrained with my winemaking, not confined to any particular style, variety or tradition. I feel the region has embraced something different in the hands-off and fresh styles I’ve been making, and I appreciate that.”
During her four vintages at Mount Benson’s Norfolk Rise Vineyard, ascending to chief winemaker in 2018, Davidson launched the Aunt Alice label in 2016. “I started Aunt Alice as a homage to individual and left-of-centre thinking, a place I could be completely free with my winemaking and do things my way,” she says. “With six vintages working mainly with Robe pinot noir, I feel I am starting to understand the vineyards and fruit.”
Aunt Alice’s first vintage was made in the shed in Robe, says Davidson. “It was one barrel of a weird pinot noir, riesling, pinot gris blend that somehow, using a crab net as a de-stemmer, worked against all odds. I did my sums on a 225-litre barrel and then ended up getting a 300-litre barrel, so I had to top my pinot noir with whites… ‘Frida’ red and white blend was born. It turned out bloody delicious. We drank it in spring and summer that same year on the beach with friends. Now it’s my best seller!”
Today, Davidson’s day job is at Karatta Wines in Robe, which is where she makes some of her wines, while the others are made in her own shed, which is where her cellar door is housed. “I have run our little winery in the shed and the cellar door onsite off 100 per cent solar for the past three years and have also made our cellar door plastic free with all food waste composted onsite,” she says.
“These things are more important to me than making money, and I’ve been dedicated to growing the business slowly, organically and as sustainably as possible. I’ve wanted to run Aunt Alice as philanthropically and environmentally friendly as possible by partnering with organisations like 1% for the Planet and regularly donating to things like Clothing The Gaps Foundation and Catherine House women’s shelter in Adelaide.”
Davidson’s mission is to “make fun, pretty wines that are clean, experimental and incredibly drinkable” and that will continue with an imminent move south to a block of land they have bought in the Huon Valley. “2022 will see Aunt Alice make a huge jump south to Tasmania,” she says. “While I have lined up a ‘day job’ with Pete Dredge at Dr Island Winemaking, Aunt Alice will continue with pinot noir and chardonnay from all over Tassie, wherever we can source fruit! Chardonnay and pinot noir will remain the heroes of my brand, and hopefully I can dabble in some riesling, as I’ve never made this variety before but drink bucket loads of it!”
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