It was Australia Day 26th of january,and I was in the wine region of McLaren Vale ,..on a mission,..to witness the festivities surrounding“The Santos Cycling Tour Down Under” which has become an iconic event for South Australia and showcases South Australia globally and also provides an opportunity for visitors and the local community, to witness and participate in a world-class Cycling event,.. with much of the cycling route threading through the vineyards of South Australia including McLaren Vale.
I was also visiting some great wineries (in an area familiar to me and close to where I grew up as a boy), and preparing a vintage report and compile material for various wine publishing projects.
I contacted Chester with a view to visiting his Winery and meeting with him,.. and he very kindly invited me and my travelling companion John Synnott (a former State Political Correspondent for the Fairfax Press in NSW with a good knowledge of Aussie Wine) to attend his organised Australia Day BBQ to be held at his home adjacent to the Winery.
It was a magnificent hot and sunny day in McLaren Vale ,..and the vines, which were coming up to harvest time, were clearly short of water,..,..and appears increasingly stressed,..not a good thing when the final ripening stage is under threat.
Luckily,.. the same couldn’t be said for this correspondent,..who was imbibing copious amounts of delicious wine,..and received the gracious hospitality for which Australians are renowned the world over,..and the opportunity to try what seemed like the full range of D’Arenberg wines ,(as well as some great Burgundies which were tasted later),….to accompany the Aussie feast of food at the quintessential Aussie BBQ! Company staff,family,assorted journalists,local Vignerons,.. and friends of the popular and exuberant host,..Chester Osborne all created a buzz ,..and a memorable Australia Day,..even Clarry (Chester’s winemaker father) was on hand to make the event a success.
