But it was the next two generations of the Osborn family that took the company into another league, creating the famous red striped labels we know today. At 16 years old in 1943, Francis d'Arenberg Osborn (known as d'Arry) left school to help his ill father run the business. In 1957, after his father's death, he took over entirely and two years later launched d'Arenberg, named after his mother.
His son Chester d'Arenberg Osborn took over as winemaker in 1984 and changed the operating practices by insisting on minimal interference, no fertilisation, cultivation or irrigation wherever possible. A larger than life character, he has a passion for multicoloured shirts and is responsible for planting unfashionable grapes and then making fantastic wines out of the fruit, leading to the large, interesting range d'Arenberg have today.
What is your oldest memory of drinking wine?
d'Arry: At the family dining room table, mixed with lemonade in the 1930s.
Chester: My first wine was a taste of red from a glass that my father gave me when I was seven. I didn't like it, probably wasn't ready to drink.
Aside from your own wines, what do you like drinking?
d'Arry: I enjoy wine, both white and red, depending on the food and surroundings.
Chester: I buy lots of great wines from every great region. Always only 3 bottles. I am quite passionate about Barolo and Barbaresco, however I love every great wine that has a certain finesse and amazing length of mineral fruit.
What is the greatest wine you have ever tried?
d'Arry: Max Schubert gave me some of his earlier Grange Hermitages on several occasions. These wines today sell for thousands of dollars. We drank them!
Chester: 1922 Hospice d'Beaune Paual Bouchard Selection, about 18 months ago.
What is the best, and worst wine you have ever made?
d'Arry: 1969 Grenache Shiraz (called d'Arenberg Burgundy in those days); 29 Gold Medals, 9 Trophies and 50 awards altogether. The first attempts at white wine were awful!
Chester: The best was 2002 or 2010 Dead Arm, the worst 1989 Red Ochre - still quite palatable though.
Describe yourself in three words.
d'Arry: Happy, overweight and underpaid
Chester: Colourful, quirky, fun
Name three people, real or fictional, living or dead, that would be guests at your dream dinner party, and what would you be drinking?
d'Arry: Len Evans, Chester and Pauline (my late wife), drinking d'Arenberg reds
Chester: Issac Newton, Albert Einstein and Galileo. Lots of great d'Arenberg wines, best vintages of course, including the Daddy Long Legs - a tawny port style over 45 years average age, and the 1922 Burgundy mentioned above - if we could get some!
d'Arenberg Website
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