Down The Rabbit Hole

At McLaren Vale — the birthplace of the South Australian wine industry — stands the d’Arenberg Cube where wine-making departs from an inherent seriousness and slips into one man’s world of whimsy.

- Kames Narayanan

Amidst a sprawling 200-hectare stretch terrain of vineyard in McLaren Vale of South Australia stands a curious five-storey geometric structure coined the d’Arenberg Cube. Designed with reference to a Rubik’s cube, from a distance, the edifice hovers overground — only revealing the illusion created by its mirrored base in closer proximity. The oddities of the architecture alone may bear a little hint of its function, but its surrounding vineyards and Salvador Dali statue at the foot of the building lend clues.

Inaugurated in 2017, the brainchild of fourth-generation winemaker Chester Osborn was conceived as a tangible universe within which the separate realms of art and winemaking coalesce — an idea that was dreamt up by Osborn more than 16 years ago.

“Wine-making is such a puzzle to figure out. Hence, I designed the building after a Rubik’s cube with its facade depicting the pieces of a puzzle,” shared Osborn as he gave a rundown of the facility. At initial encounter, the d’Arenberg Cube is a seemingly far stretch of the imagination but its oddities dovetail with the eccentricities of its founder. Dressed in a striking printed shirt with curly blonde locks that fell down to his shoulders, Osborn’s kooky personality called to mind the Mad Hatter — the d’Arenberg Cube, I later discover, is indeed the equivalent to his Wonderland.