News

Writing in Melbourne's The Age newspaper respected wine journalist Jeni Port gives away some Australia Day awards of her own. For 'services to wine and fun' Jeni awards fourth generation d'Arenberg winemaker Chester Osborn with the highest honour of 'Companion of the Order of Australian Wine' (AWC).  

Jeni explains her choice:

"Chester always enjoys himself and it's infectious. Sometimes we forget that wine doesn't have to be serious and can be a bloody good, light hearted drink. Who else would release a wine called the Cenosilicaphobic Cat in honour of his ginger moggie, who loved a tipple?"

While not quite the same as the Order of Australia Medal that his father d'Arry Osborn received in 2004,(something that d'Arry will be sure to remind him) it is a fitting accolade all the same.  

Chester Osborn AWC

Check out the full article here. 

d'Arenberg Principal and Managing Director d'Arry Osborn was interviewd on ABC Local Radio this morning. He was asked to talk about Christmas past ad present and provides some interesting insights into d'Arenberg history.

Click here to download the audio file.

Download a copy of the Redstripe Pressings to catch up with all of the weird and wonderful things that have been happening at d'Arenberg.

d'Arenberg's The Dry Dam Riesling from McLaren Vale has featured on the popular American show Today. 

Wine guest Gary Vaynerchuk (from Wine Library TV) pairs three wines with three dishes. The Dry Dam is paired with 'butternut squash' with all hosts raving about it.

Watch it for yourself here.

Being a small family owned winery we are happy if we make the cover of anything, from the local rag to Bacon Buster. So we had broad smiles when d’Arry and Chester featured on the cover of WBM - Australia’s Wine Business Magazine with an amazing 12 page feature. Editor Anthony Madigan opens the story with “When your wines are as good as d’Arenberg’s and you’ve won just about every prize worth winning including over a thousand medals, the chief winemaker can wear whatever he likes.” 

It's a great read and can be donloaded here.

Australia’s First Families of Wine was launched on the steps of the Sydney Opera House on 31 August 2009. The historic initiative involves 12 leading multi generational family owned wineries from around Australia joining forces. All members share a passion for raising the profile of Australian wines as age-worthy artisanal creations of individual beauty and rarity. 

d’Arenberg certainly fits this criteria and joins distinguished industry stalwarts in telling the story of fine Australian wine to the world in a manner not yet seen. Australia’s First Families of Wine includes Brown Brothers; Campbell’s; De Bortoli; Henschke; Howard Park; Jim Barry; McWilliam’s; Tahbilk; Taylors; Tyrrell’s and Yalumba

Combined the group has more than 1200 years of winemaking experience with over 5,500 hectares of some of the most precious and iconic vineyards in the country. All members must produce an Icon wine and the list includes some of the most sought after wines in Australia. 

“Family ownership allows for greater expression and stylistic freedom and the AFFW group reflects that with some amazing wines with true personality and individuality,” Chester Osborn said.

The ABC's Landline program ran a story on 11 October 2009 which can be viewed here.

Find out more about Australia's First Families of Wine here.

d’Arenberg was awarded as a Winery of the Year by the USA publication Wine & Spirits Magazine. Each year the tasting panel reviews more than 9,000 wines blind and passes the best onto the critics. The Winery of the Year accolade is reserved for wineries that score at the top of their categories reflects the strength of the entire d’Arenberg portfolio across all categories and price points.

Wine & Spirits Editor Joshua Greene describes The Footbolt Shiraz 2006 as "pure soil driven funk" and had this to say of the range: "Whether you go for The Derelict Vineyard Grenache, The Sticks and Stones red or The Noble Wrinkled Riesling, the wine may have an unusual name, but it's bound to be delicious."

The Footbolt Shiraz 2006 was also named as one of the 100 Buys of the Year in the same edition.

Gary Vaynerchuck is an internet phenomenon with his entertaining wine reviews on Wine Library TV. In this epsiode his guest is Joshua Greene, the editor of USA's Wine & Spirits Magazine. After a fantastic wrap for the winery with Gary saying that "We believe in this winery....... Do you know what I love about this winery is that they make real wines," amongst other glowing comments they review The Footbolt Shiraz 2006.

See the clip here.

The latest volume of influential Japanese manga comic Les Gouttes de Dieu (Drop of the Gods) has featured its first Australian wine in d’Arenberg’s The Laughing Magpie Shiraz Viognier 2006, causing an influx of orders. 

The cartoon is a best seller in Japan and Korea and has been a revelation in wine communication with translations into multiple Asian languages as well as French. It follows the story of Kanzaki Shizuku, the son of a recently deceased wine critic who has placed conditions on the inheritance of his significant cellar. 
Shizuku must compete with Toomie Issei, an adopted son of his late father and young wine critic in finding specific wines that his father described as “The 12 Apostles”.

The story picks up with the main character Shizuku (who works for a Japanese Importer) in Australia searching for three wines when they come across The Laughing Magpie 2006. Impressed with the trophies, they are even more surprised to find a wine so good under screwcap with Shizuku saying “I didn't expect much from a wine under screwcap,” before describing it as “spicy and overflowing with energetic life. It's both exotic and made for normal people at the same time,” and deciding to stock it in his shop.

Writing in the Weekend Australian Magazine, John Lethlean and Necia Wilden compiled a list of their favourite restaurants with the right blend of service, food and ambience. 

d'Arry's Vernadah Restaurant  was the only South Australian to make the list which was very heavily weighted to Melbourne and Sydney.

Here's what they had to say:

"Winemaker Chester Osborn is the fourth generation at d’Arenberg winery, so it’s not surprising that the family’s restaurant, d’Arry’s Verandah, with its beautiful views over McLaren Vale, has been going strong since 1996: longevity is in the blood. So, too, is dedication to unceasing quality from chefs Peter Reschke and Nigel Rich, whose ideas and culinary style still seem as fresh as the day they started.

Why? Because this is some of the best food served by some of the most unpretentious staff, you will find anywhere in South Australia, including the capital. Whether they’re playing with Mediterranean, Middle Eastern or Asian ingredients, the boys hit the sweet spot with generous, exuberant flavours and a special talent for seafood. Hugely enjoyable.”

Find out more about d'Arry's Verandah restaurant at www.darrysverandah.com.au

As much as he loves to win wine show trophies, nothing gives d'Arenberg Principal d'Arry Osborn more pleasure than hooking a big fish. 

Recently on a fishing trip with two mates he managed to reel in a massive snapper off the Coffin Bay coast. It was caught using 80lb line with a squid head as bait. It took over 15 minutes to reel it in, but the effort was well worth it according to d'Arry.

"It was a beauty, it was so big that we had to chop off the head and tail to fit it in the fridge," d'Arry said. 

"We couldn't weigh it, but everyone there thought it was at least 25 to 30lb (11 to 13kg).  

"I made a soup out of the fins and head and we chopped the rest into steaks.Nigel and Peter from d'Arry's Verandah Restaurant shared their recipe for baked snapper with white bean mash and we had a nice bottle of Olive Grove Chardonnay to accompany it.

"Of course that was only a small piece of the fish so Chester and I have some in our freezers, which should last us a while."

Download the recipe for d'Arry's Verandah Restaurant's baked snapper steak with white bean mash and grab a bottle of Olive Grove Chardonnay.

In the Australian edition of Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, released on 28 February 2009, 14 d’Arenberg wines were reviewed, 13 of which were awarded a rating of 90 points or more.
This is a high accolade from a publication widely regarded as the most influential of its kind in the world. This latest round of reviews follows on from 13 separate wines that were published in issue #178 on value wines in 2008. 

The Dead Arm Shiraz 2006 lead the way in the latest round of reviews with a score of 95+, followed closely by The Coppermine Road Cabernet Sauvignon and The Ironstone Pressings GSM which both earned a score of 93+. 

The full reviews can be found in the testimonials section.