d’Arenberg ‘Cube’ proves popular attraction

The AU$13 million ‘Cube’ constructed in the vineyards of d’Arenberg in McLaren Vale has reportedly proved to be a popular attraction with 1,000 people a day visiting it since its opening last year.

Opened in December 2017, the five storey building houses public and private tasting rooms, several bars, a restaurant and an art gallery, with the cellar door open seven days a week and the restaurant (which includes a 3D food ‘printer’ as part of its equipment) serving lunch from Thursday to Sunday (there is also the longstanding Verandah restaurant at the winery).

Chief winemaker Chester Osborn told Australian paper The Advertiser that initial fears over peoples’ reaction to the giant ‘rubik’s cube’ had swiftly diminished and the feedback had been “overwhelmingly positive”.

A rooftop bar provides panoramic views over McLaren Vale, the Wilunga Hills and the Gulf of St Vincent and as well as the art gallery all sorts of what Osborn referred to as “paraphernalia” from Aboriginal, South East Asian and Indian culture (among others) are to be found throughout the cube.

The restaurant is run by a South African husband-and-wife team, Brendan Wessels and Lindsay Dürr, who have designed a menu that is meant to “engage the imagination”.