IF Lois and Dick Abraham’s story is anything to go by, Margaret River locals ought to be wary of tourists – they might never want to go home.
The Abrahams bought a 45-hectare property south of the Margaret River township four years ago after a family holiday to the region for Christmas convinced them that this was a place they wanted to spend a lot more time.
The pair, who have planted 11ha of vines and invested in Phil May’s Growers Pty Ltd, are hoping to spend the key months of the growing season and vintage in WA, escaping the winter months in the US where they divide their time between San Francisco and New Mexico.
Mrs Abraham is a former litigation lawyer who now arbitrates and mediates cases involving high technology.
Her husband is in technology and venture capital, having an engineering background from a semi-conductor business.
They had previously invested in a small vineyard in California.
“We enjoyed it but I can’t say we planned to do this,” Mrs Abraham said about the decision to invest in their small piece of Western Australia, called Baj Vineyards.
“We just really liked Margaret River. We met the people and got to enjoy the extraordinary beauty of the place.”
She said doing business in Australia has been remarkably easy, although she doesn’t discount the travel and time zone issues – particularly dealing with their core US business interests that remain in operation.
“It is not a trivial trip but we have discovered we can tolerate it pretty well,” Mrs Abraham told WA Business News.
“And if it were not for email, none of this would be possible.”