The Blending Bench McLaren Vale review | SA’s Great Travel Planner

Winemaking is a complicated business but Chester Osborn, our host at The Blending Bench, made it seem easy as Eurovision star Conchita Wurst sat down to create her own mix.

WHERE do you take an international star on her day off in South Australia? To blend her own wine of course.

It’s always interesting to see the state through a visitor’s eyes but watching Conchita Wurst’s reaction to McLaren Vale’s rolling hills was something special.

The bearded lady and winner of Eurovision Song Contest 2014 was in town as Feast Festival ambassador and headline act and, on her day off, headed for the Vale for a bit of down time. I tagged along for the ride, keen to find out what she thought of our food and wine scene.

Wurst was gobsmacked by the countryside, and the opportunity to blend her own wine.

The 27-year-old grew up in the mountains of Austria and her grandmother (Mary) was the first to introduce her to wine.

“She grew up in Portugal and when we were old enough would bring us wine. When it comes to dark wine I have my grandmother in my mind,” Wurst said.

The Blending Bench is a hands-on, 90-minute interactive experience held at d’Arenberg Winery. Our host for the day was winemaker Chester Osborn, a man almost as hairy as our special guest and a born storyteller. Winemaking is a complicated business but easygoing Osborn makes it sound easy. The setting is a treat, too.

“These are the old stables, built in the 1880s,” Osborn said. “We only got tractors in the ’50s so before that my father worked with horses and they were kept here. It was about to fall over and I’d been pushing for years to get it converted.”

It’s a beautiful space, all stone, iron and character.

Three glasses of red wine sat on the table, each shiraz parcel containing different flavours and textures. We tasted, made notes, and, depending on personal preference, jotted down the percentages we’d mix to make our own blend. Beakers and pipettes made it all feel a bit like a science class — with booze.

Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst samples a local white at d’Arenberg winery. Picture: Tait Schmaal

Osborn urged us not to take it too seriously. His team did all the picking, crushing, fermenting, foot treading, basket pressing and barrel ageing … this is the fun part.

Sip. Ponder. Sip. Ponder. Mix. Taste. Mix. Taste.

“Then do it again,” Osborn said. “You’ll get several shots at it and eventually we’ll mix it up and put it in a bottle for you.”

It’s an intriguing process and, when dry ice was added to the mix, a spectacular one too. When satisfied with our mix, it was poured into a bottle, sealed and hey, presto, we had our own bottle, ready for consumption in the privacy of our own home.

“Make sure you name it and sign it,” Osborn said, handing out labels.

I called mine The Bearded Beauty, while Wurst opted for Mary The Great.

“My grandmother was probably the first diva I ever met. Along with my parents, she taught me the most important things in life. She is a very strict woman with a big heart and I always relate to those types of women.” Wurst smiled.

“She is obsessed with beauty … I think this is where all of this came from. She doesn’t wear a lot of make-up because she wants to be natural but she always told me that dressing up is a mark of respect towards others … you put effort in before meeting them.”

With that, Wurst flicked her luscious long locks, picked up her bottle and clip-clopped out of the stables on sky-high black heels. Like performing, blending and creating wine is an art and the names on our wine bottles and memories behind them reflected just how personal that experience is. They may not bring as much glamour and sass to the table as Wurst did, but I’ll take future international visitors along for the ride.

Reviews are unannounced and paid for by SAWeekend.

This review was first published in November 2015 and had details updated in March 2021.

• Osborn Rd, McLaren Vale
• 8329 4888
• darenberg.com.au

• LOCATION McLaren Vale, 39km south of Adelaide CBD.
• EXPERIENCE 75-minute hands-on winemaking experience. Create a unique wine then bottle a 750ml sample to take home.
• PRICE $95 per person.