Chester Osborn

-Robert Parker Junior- TOP 40 Wine Personality's of the World

Chester Osborn, chief and fourth generation family member, is continuing the family’s wine making tradition that spans over two centuries. Chester and his wine making team utilise the original 1920s cellars and the traditional wine making processes to create the wines that proudly wear the red stripe label. All wines, including the whites, are basket pressed and the reds are traditionally fermented in open, wax-lined concrete fermenters.

Chester’s wine making philosophy is to produce wines that have great fragrance and fruit character with palate texture and length balanced by fine natural acidity and tannins.   He sums up his wine making as;

'The art of our wine making is about great viticulture, extremely gentle handling of the grapes and fermented must, strict ferment temperature regimes and no fining or filtration. Obviously it is a lot more complex than this however there’s a lifetime of knowledge required to describe it all.’


Chester has long been recognized as a unique and knowledgeable member of the wine making profession. His reputation has been recognised by Australian and International wine writers who regularly approach him for comments and insight into the industry. He has undertaken guest speaker roles at both industry and consumer events and has been called upon to contribute to number articles and books about wine.

In the late 1990s , Chester, and his good friend, Zar Brookes, spent several late nights and a few wines coming up with quirky names for the wines that now had his distinctive stamp.  Chester came up with names that were related to the family property or the wine making process.  These names and the stories behind them are now told at dinner parties across the world and help make the d'Arenberg brand so memorable.

Chester Osborn was born in 1962 into a wine making family, and raised on the family property where father d’Arry Osborn had begun producing wines with the red stripe label in 1959. During Chester’s primary and secondary years of schooling he worked in the vineyards and the cellar floor during school holidays.

Wine making was not Chester’s only interest at a young age. In his teenage years he developed a keen enthusiasm for photography and won a national award.

In 1980 Chester commenced his Oenology degree at Roseworthy Agricultural College. During the next three years he worked the vintage period in various wineries including Tullochs in the Hunter Valley and Hardy’s Chateau Reynella.

In 1983, Chester graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Sciences in Oenology and took over the reins as Chief Wine maker at d’Arenberg, rejuvenating the 70 year old cellars and 19th Century vineyards as well as overseeing all aspects of wine making, viticulture and marketing.

In 1984 he took leave from the winery and spent most of the year undertaking a viticultural and oenological tour of France, Italy, Germany and Spain.

Chester Osborn has received masses of critical acclaim for his wine making talents. Most recently he was recognized as The Red Wine maker of the Year at the 2007 Japan International Wine Competition. 

Trophy- Best Value Red Under $30, Sydney International Wine Competition
- The Laughing Magpie Shiraz Viognier 2006

Finalist- Gourmet Traveller Wine maker of the Year (announced Sept 2008)

Trophy- Best White Varietal- Royal Adelaide Wine Show
-The Last Ditch Viognier 2006 

Voted Top 10 Best Producer of Australia Shiraz, US Wine and Spirits Magazine 

Winery of the Year (Southern Hemisphere) - Critic’s Choice Awards, LA

Best Regional White Wine Trophy- 2006 Decanter World Wine Awards (UK) 

Best International White Wine Trophy- 2006 Decanter World Wine Awards (UK)
- 2005 The Money Spider Roussanne

World’s Top 50 Best Value Wines, Decanter Magazine (UK)
-The Footbolt Shiraz 

Trophy for Red Winemaker of the Year- Japan International Wine Challenge

Robert Parker’s Top 40 World Wine Personalities- The Wine Advocate

The Winery of Distinction Trophy- Atlanta International Wine Summit 

Best Wine of the Competition- Atlanta International Wine Summit 

Best Imported Red Wine- Atlanta International Wine Summit
- The Ironstones Pressings GSM 2004 

Australian Shining Lights award- Winemaker of the Year- recognizing Chester’s contribution to the industry and his ongoing leadership.

The Dead Arm Shiraz 2003 named Super Premium Red Wine of the Year at the annual Australian Liquor Industry Awards.

The Dead Arm Shiraz inducted into the Langton's Classifications Top 101 Australian Wines under the 'Excellent' Category.

Finest Producer Trophy - International Wine Challenge-Asia 

Finest Chardonnay Trophy- International Wine Challenge-Asia

The Len Evens Trophy. This trophy is awarded each year to the winemaker with the most consistent high scores in the International Wine Challenge over a period of five years.

Best of Nations Trophy- Australia. - San Francisco International Wine Competition

VOGUE Entertaining and Travel Magazine award Australia’s Winery Of The Year

Winery Of The Year Trophy - San Francisco International Wine Competition

Great Value White Wine Of The Year - UK International Wine Challenge

Most Successful Winery Trophy- Sydney International Wine Competition 

Best Blended Red Trophy at the Royal Adelaide Wine Show

Chester Osborn voted Person of the Year at the 8th Annual Hospice du Rhone Celebration (Pasa Robles, USA), in recognition of outstanding contribution to Rhone Wines.

Hyatt/Advertiser South Australian Wine of the Year

Runner-up to Australian Winemaker of the Year,Gourmet Traveller Wine Magazine

Short-listed for the International Wine & Spirits Competition International Winemaker of the Year

Wine Society Perpetual Trophy for the Most Successful Winery of the Competition at the Sydney International Top 100 Competition. 

d’Arenberg inducted into Inaugural wine.com Hall of Fame.

Winestate magazine’s Inaugural Winemaker of the Year

Hyatt/Advertiser South Australian Wine of the Year
-The Dead Arm Shiraz 1994

Best in Export Class Trophy Royal Adelaide Wine Show
-1994 Barrel Ferment Chardonnay