d'Arenberg Winery & d'Arry's Verandah Restaurant: Ron studies the history of this iconic winery while enjoying a bite and a drop in the Fleurieu Peninsula region of South Australia
High on a hill overlooking one of the most picturesque parts of McLaren Vale sits a unique blend of wine, food and history. In this epicurean escape the cares of the day vanish as diners feast on all that's before them.
D'Arry's Verandah Restaurant is a fusion of all that's wonderful about this wine lovers' playground on Adelaide's doorstep - a mere 40 minute drive south of the CBD. But to truly understand how all of this evolved into an icon sought by wine and food lovers, you need to spend a bit of time with the man it's named after - d'Arry Osborn.
"We used to have five Clydesdales in the old stables." d'Arry told us.
Today the Clydesdales have gone and the stables are now an interpretive centre where visitors can dig deep into the story of a winery which helped transform the drinking habits of Australians. And the story tunnels down as deep as the tap roots of the vines which surround this place.
Like core samples dug by a mining operation, the experts at d'Arenberg Winery have collected and are now displaying the soil types to be found across five hundred acres of vineyards. It's the brain child of Chester Osborne, D'Arry's son who says the real success of this wine making Mecca is the complexity of soil types to be found in a small area - courtesy of a glacier millions of years ago.
The Osborn family purchased this piece of McLaren Vale heaven in 1912. Now Chester oversees each vintage helped out by underground knowledge contained in each canister and assisted also by the knowledge gleaned by his father over decades.
Each bottle consumed by diners in the award winning D'Arry's Verandah Restaurant carries D'Arenberg's unique red stripe label. It's elegantly simple - like the story of how it came into being after D'Arry took over in the late fifties following the death of his father.
d'Arry Osborn: "I went to Prince Alfred College and red and white was a good colour and the red stripe was Prince's red."
It was at that time that D'Arry changed the winery's name from Osborne to d'Arenberg - his mother's surname. She died in childbirth when d'Arry came into the world way back in 1920. In his first vintages d'Arry experimented with his flagons of burgundy and they took off.
The now famous red stripe label was launched back in 1959 by d'Arry. And in the early '60s it was really associated with the half gallon flagon of burgundy. Since those early days the d'Arenberg name has been associated with a variety of premium wines known the world over.
Today wine lovers try those made famous by Chester with names like Dead Arm, Footbolt Shiraz and Coppermine Road. And as punters taste the delights they can marvel at the implements used by the Osborns over generations.
And chances are in a working winery and restaurant, you're likely to catch the legendary winemaker or his legendary dad.
The d'Arenberg Winery and its award winning restaurant d'Arry's Verandah are off Osborn Road in McLaren Vale. Both are open daily. The interpretive centre is open by appointment.
d'Arenberg Winery and its award winning restaurant d'Arry's Verandah are located off Osborn Road in McLaren Vale. Both are open daily. The interpretive centre is open by appointment. Contact (08)8329 4848.
d'Arenberg Winery & d'Arry's Verandah Restaurant
Osborn Road
McLaren Vale
Bookings 8329 4848
More info on d'Arenberg Wines >>Published 14th March 2010
