Celebrating their centenary in 2012, d'Arenberg is one of the most significant wineries in McLaren Vale. In 1912 Joseph Osborn, a teetotaler and director of Thomas Hardy and Sons, purchased the well established Milton Vineyards in the hills just north of the townships of Gloucester and Bellevue, now just known as McLaren Vale.

In 1943 Frank's son Francis d'Arenberg, universally known as "d'Arry", returned from school, age 16, to help his ill father run the business, eventually assuming full management of d'Arenberg in 1957. d'Arry bottled the first of the famous diagonal red stripe labelled wines two years later.

d'Arenberg's wines of the 1960's gained immediate cult status amongst imbibers and judges. One Cabernet Sauvignon won a Jimmy Watson Trophy at the 1969 Royal Melbourne Wine Show and another Grenache - based wine was awarded 7 trophies and 29 gold medals from Australian capital city wine shows. It is understandable that by the 1970's d'Arenberg Wines had become very fashionable and had gained significant national and international profiles in less than 20 years.

Enter the fourth generation, d'Arry's son Chester d'Arenberg Osborn. After graduating from Roseworthy College and touring other Australian and European wine regions, Chester took over the reins as Chief Winemaker in 1984. He immediately set about rejuvenating the old cellars and l9th century vineyards. He invested in new oak, refrigeration and lots of small stainless steel tanks which resulted in immediate white dividends with his Dry Dam Riesling, the Broken Fishplate Sauvignon Blanc, Olive Grove Chardonnay and botrytis affected Noble Riesling all winning gold medals and trophies at wine shows.

100 years on, it is not surprising that with the "Red Stripe" in their blood, d'Arry and Chester's viticultural and oenological talents have ensured d'Arenberg has continued to win critical acclaim, numerous trophies and national and international awards, none more so than in recent years. d'Arenberg is continuing to produce wines that are a credit to both the winery and the region

Winemaker: Chester Osborn

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