In the McLaren Vale wine region, an unlikely structure has emerged – a contemporary, twisted glass box that glistens in the South Australia sunshine. The A$15m d’Arenberg Cube serves two purposes. It’s a brand home for the award-winning wine producer, offering a multi-sensory, art-filled journey through the world of d’Arenberg and a range of blending and degustation masterclasses, and it’s a world-class restaurant.
“When the guest enters the building, they walk through a mist that introduces their senses to the wine of the day,” says chief winemaker and viticulturist Chester Osborn. “There’s an art gallery of wine-related installations and an interactive gallery called Alternate Realities, because when two people have the same glass of wine, they’ll have different realities of that wine.”
For Osborn, whose great grandfather, Joseph Osborn, founded the d’Arenberg wineries in 1912, it’s been a long-held dream. As the owner of one of the busiest cellar doors in McLaren Vale, research by wine and tourism industries noted the need for more tourist drawcards and the Cube is his response. Osborn needed more space to cater more people.
“We have a successful restaurant called d’Arrys Verandah and a tasting room, which are always fully booked,” he tells Attractions Management. “I thought about creating an 1800s, colonial-style restaurant, but then one day I woke up and realised we needed something really iconic that will make people really want to come and see us.”
PUZZLE ME THIS Wines from d’Arenberg are famously something of a riddle – for example, The Dead Arm Shiraz, The Hermit Crab Viognier, The Money Spider Roussanne – “and wine, too, is a puzzle to work out,” says Osborn. That inspired the idea of a Rubik’s cube-shaped structure, with the top two levels appearing to have been twisted. The mirrored design means it looks like a cube floating on top of a vine.
In the new fine dining restaurant, Michelin-starred chefs Brendan Wessels and Lindsay Durr will be serving a menu inspired by the theme of alternate realities and at “the top end of international cuisine – think Melbourne’s Vue de Monde or El Celler de Can Roca in Spain,” says Osborn. There are four big terraces where guests can admire the panoramic view and, on the top floor, the bar, tasting room and lounge area will be located, featuring glass art, lightboxes, video screens and projections.
“The bar is made up of 115 screens showing content of a person swimming along, as if they’re trapped inside.”
There are plenty more offbeat or zany installations and interactives inside the visitor experience, including a cow sculpture with a polygraph, a natural automated winemaker, a “flower and fruit” room, decorated with artificial flowers and fruits and filled with wine aromas the visitor can try, and a 360-multimedia immersion room that recreates the vineyard.
The d’Arenberg Cube – expected to open in late November – is built to accommodate 500,000 annually and Osborn says he will charge a flat A$10 ticket price for non-diners and non-members who just want to do the experiences. As wine tourism continues to blossom in McLaren Vale, where there are 120 wineries and 18 cellar doors, Osborn’s iconic Cube is certain to attract attention.
“It’s a very busy tourist destination, second to Barossa Valley in numbers, but not by much,” he says. “It’s on the way to Fleurieu peninsula and Kangaroo Island, which are popular destinations, so we have a lot of people heading there who don’t stop, but maybe they will now. There are 40 restaurants in this region and its only 40 minutes drive from the centre of Adelaide, so it’s popular for a day or overnight trip.”
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2017 issue 4
Interview: Jane Cooper
We talked to Jane Cooper, COO
and president of Herschend Family
Entertainment, about the company
portfolio and all things Dollywood
In the McLaren Vale wine region, an unlikely structure has emerged – a contemporary, twisted glass box that glistens in the South Australia sunshine. The A$15m d’Arenberg Cube serves two purposes. It’s a brand home for the award-winning wine producer, offering a multi-sensory, art-filled journey through the world of d’Arenberg and a range of blending and degustation masterclasses, and it’s a world-class restaurant.
“When the guest enters the building, they walk through a mist that introduces their senses to the wine of the day,” says chief winemaker and viticulturist Chester Osborn. “There’s an art gallery of wine-related installations and an interactive gallery called Alternate Realities, because when two people have the same glass of wine, they’ll have different realities of that wine.”
For Osborn, whose great grandfather, Joseph Osborn, founded the d’Arenberg wineries in 1912, it’s been a long-held dream. As the owner of one of the busiest cellar doors in McLaren Vale, research by wine and tourism industries noted the need for more tourist drawcards and the Cube is his response. Osborn needed more space to cater more people.
“We have a successful restaurant called d’Arrys Verandah and a tasting room, which are always fully booked,” he tells Attractions Management. “I thought about creating an 1800s, colonial-style restaurant, but then one day I woke up and realised we needed something really iconic that will make people really want to come and see us.”
PUZZLE ME THIS Wines from d’Arenberg are famously something of a riddle – for example, The Dead Arm Shiraz, The Hermit Crab Viognier, The Money Spider Roussanne – “and wine, too, is a puzzle to work out,” says Osborn. That inspired the idea of a Rubik’s cube-shaped structure, with the top two levels appearing to have been twisted. The mirrored design means it looks like a cube floating on top of a vine.
In the new fine dining restaurant, Michelin-starred chefs Brendan Wessels and Lindsay Durr will be serving a menu inspired by the theme of alternate realities and at “the top end of international cuisine – think Melbourne’s Vue de Monde or El Celler de Can Roca in Spain,” says Osborn. There are four big terraces where guests can admire the panoramic view and, on the top floor, the bar, tasting room and lounge area will be located, featuring glass art, lightboxes, video screens and projections.
“The bar is made up of 115 screens showing content of a person swimming along, as if they’re trapped inside.”
There are plenty more offbeat or zany installations and interactives inside the visitor experience, including a cow sculpture with a polygraph, a natural automated winemaker, a “flower and fruit” room, decorated with artificial flowers and fruits and filled with wine aromas the visitor can try, and a 360-multimedia immersion room that recreates the vineyard.
The d’Arenberg Cube – expected to open in late November – is built to accommodate 500,000 annually and Osborn says he will charge a flat A$10 ticket price for non-diners and non-members who just want to do the experiences. As wine tourism continues to blossom in McLaren Vale, where there are 120 wineries and 18 cellar doors, Osborn’s iconic Cube is certain to attract attention.
“It’s a very busy tourist destination, second to Barossa Valley in numbers, but not by much,” he says. “It’s on the way to Fleurieu peninsula and Kangaroo Island, which are popular destinations, so we have a lot of people heading there who don’t stop, but maybe they will now. There are 40 restaurants in this region and its only 40 minutes drive from the centre of Adelaide, so it’s popular for a day or overnight trip.”
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2017 issue 4
Interview: Jane Cooper
We talked to Jane Cooper, COO
and president of Herschend Family
Entertainment, about the company
portfolio and all things Dollywood
Expo 2030 Riyadh is being planned as a permanent visitor destination, with organisers
confirming the six-million-square-metre site will become a Global Village after the event closes.
The owner of one of Australia's best-known waterparks has acquired a major competitor,
creating a new attractions business spanning two of the country's largest visitor destinations.
The Toverland theme park in the Netherlands has announced a €98m expansion programme
that will add a resort, new attractions and staff facilities as it pursues plans to become a multi-
day destination.
Hotel de France, located on the British Isle of Jersey, has created a wellness retreat package
that includes a hot yoga session that will take place in Jersey Zoo’s butterfly sanctuary.
A new immersive attraction designed to transport visitors into the final hours of ancient Pompeii
is preparing to open near the world-famous archaeological site in southern Italy.
Experience design company, BRC Imagination Arts, has completed a transition that sees founder
Bob Rogers pass ownership of the business to four long-serving senior executives, while
remaining actively involved with the company.
Movie Park Germany has opened a new Paramount Pictures-themed attraction as part of its 30th
anniversary celebrations, using immersive storytelling and adaptive reuse to reinforce the park’s
longstanding “Hollywood in Germany” positioning.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
Efteling has opened Hooghmoed, a new family drop tower designed to broaden the appeal of its
recently launched Sirene Island themed area and introduce younger visitors to thrill attractions.
A proposed Puy du Fou development near Bicester and Universal Destinations and Experiences’
planned resort in Bedford are emerging as part of a wider transformation of the Oxford–
Cambridge Growth Corridor into a major centre for UK leisure and tourism inv
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