Description

d’Arenberg is one of Australias most revered, successful and innovative wineries.  It consistently produces high-quality, excellent value wines year and year out, winning many awards and new fans along the way.

It was started in 1912 by Joseph Osborn, a teetotaller, who purchased 25 hectares of land and began selling fruit to local wineries. In 1928, the property’s own cellars were completed and red and fortified wines were made here in increasing quantities to supply the expanding European markets.

The name d’Arenberg came to prominence in 1959 when Joseph’s grandson Francis d’Arenberg Osborn, universally known as ‘d’Arry’, took over the running of the business and christened it in honour of his mother’s family name. The wines themselves started gaining cult status amongst judges and amateurs alike. By the 1970s the d’Arenberg range had gained a significant national and international profile and its wines had become extremely fashionable.

In 1984, d’Arry’s charismatic son Chester d’Arenberg Osborn, having graduated and spent time exploring European estates, took over the reins as chief winemaker and viticulturist. Passionate about the family business from his youth, the inimitable Chester soon set about reintroducing traditional practices to capture the small-batch character of his wines. The old-fashioned basket press, for example, allows oxygen into the vinification process, softening and rounding out flavours and contributing much of the innate character that sets the wines apart. At the same time, Chester has moved the brand into the 21st century and now presides over an expanding range of evocatively marketed wines yet ensures that intrinsic quality in the bottle remains uniformly high.

From entry-level to iconic, all d’Arenberg wines have been basket pressed, reds and whites, with all red ferments foot trod during fermentation.  All d’Arenberg estate owned and leased vineyards are NASAA Certified for organic and biodynamic processes.