darling park - the story

First planted in 1988, Darling Park has built an enviable reputation for producing wines that not only reflect their cool climate Mornington Peninsula origins but also reveal clear personality, depth and life.

It all started in the late 1980's with John and Delys Sargeant's passion for great wine - after an initial small planting nearby, the home vineyard at 232 Red Hill Road was planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Pinot noir.

Pinot gris was planted a few years later at the request of Kathleen Quealy and Kevin McCarthy who were to start T'Gallant - this is the oldest Pinot gris on the Peninsula along with McCabe's in Tucks Road.

The T'Gallant wines were made here with the Darling Park's until in 1996 they found their permanent home in Main Ridge.
  

Cellar door was run in the corrugated iron shed that is still the winery until the magical and totally charming cellar door was built in 1996. The cellar door is open for wine tasting every day from 11 til 5 (we are closed Christmas and Boxing Days, New Year's Day and Good Friday); sharing platters of local produce are on offer every weekend from 12 til 4.

The vineyard is now planted with Pinot noir, Chardonnay and Pinot gris. Since our home vineyard is small, we have close arrangements with a few other growers to help us source the fruit needed. More details on these are on the Vineyards page.

Darling Park's labels are well known for their beautiful artworks. The Sargeants initially made use of lovely Rubenesque romantic images - then details of paintings from the Wallace Collection were chosen - and more recently the work of modern Australian artists such as Arthur Boyd, John Olsen, Sidney Nolan, John Percival and Charles Blackman  from the Liberman family collection.

our philosophy

In winemaking, most of this philosophical talk should take place in the vineyard. Pinotphiles know that this is particularly true for Pinot noir, but it's just as true for all premium wines.

At Darling Park, we make quite a few styles including Pinot gris, Viognier, Chardonnay, Sparklings, Pinot noir and Shiraz.  Fruit quality and fruit character determine 90% of the result. That is, the better the fruit (health and ripeness mainly), the better the wine - in principle.  As for character - personality- the climate, weather, aspect, soils, trellising, pruning, crop level, clone and an endless range of other factors make their contribution.

And philosophy - when it comes to wines, it's very individual indeed. Some of us fall into our comfort zone naturally, others must make a deliberate decision to move in a certain direction - of vineyard practices, winemaking aims, market style.

At Darling Park, we are continuing to evolve. We started out in the late 80's as a mum-and-dad affair, with the Sargeants at the heart of the venture. They planted the vines, made the wine, staffed the cellar door, made the marvellous tartes flambéés, charmed one and all.

With Sarge's passing  and Delys' retirement in 2001, the coming of the Liberman and Coe families saw Darling Park enter a phase of growth, taking on staff to help where once John and Delys had done almost all.

New management naturally sees a shift in philosophy. Since 2001, Darling Park has expanded its range of wines and sought recognition interstate as well as locally while continuing to seek excellence in wine.

 Judy Gifford joined Darling Park  as winemaker and manager in mid 2005, bringing her own philosophical bent. Organic growing principles are close to the top of her list - and of course any winemaker wants to make her own mark on the wines. Judy aims to produce terrific wines of course - and as  a Peninsula winemaker that means Pinot noir is at the top of the list - but this winemaker wants to make wines that are true to their terroir (OK it's impossible to have this conversation without the 't' word!) - that means low crops, organic and sustainable growing, indigenous yeasts, moderate use of oak, generally fairly traditional (read French-influenced modern Australian) winery practices. No such thing as natural wine (that would be vinegar) but there is a kind of taoist approach which aims to direct the whole process gently in the way that seems to flow best with the land and its vines.

Darling Park

CELLAR DOOR is open for wine tasting every day from 11am til 5pm; light lunches are offered every weekend
232 Red Hill Rd, Red Hill, Victoria 3937 Australia
T 03 5989 2324  Fax 03 9012 4348  E info@darlingparkwinery.com  www.darlingparkwinery.com

our team

Judy Gifford

Judy Gifford  is Darling Park’s Winemaker/General Manager, bringing a vast array of skills to the job since she arrived mid-2005. One of her most important skills is her ability to gain the most from excellent fruit to craft wines of superb personality and style. Formal training came via the University of Burgundy, France and when combined with Judy’s experience making wine for some of the Mornington Peninsula’s best labels, including Dromana Estate, it is a compelling pedigree.

John Brooks

John Brooks is a Darling Park fixture who has added his own substantial skill to the whole picture since helping plant out the first vines in 1989. Manages the vineyard, the can-do man, always the first to arrive in the morning and the last to leave; Darling Park would fall apart without him.

Shane Penglis

Shane has been with Darling Park for many years, and  is an indispensable member of the team. Shane grew up in a vinegrowing family, is our resident expert in vine fauna, and plays a mean bass.

Max Lyon

Max thinks he's retired from running his transport logistics company - however, every weekend sees him behind the tasting bench enthusiastically sharing his considerable wine knowledge. He's on the road every week, too, bringing Darling Park to local trade. Max has been a discriminating wine connoisseur for many years and is passionate about learning more- so here he is refining his basket-pressing technique.

Emma Mordue

Emma from England via Sydney is our newest team member and already we can't do without her! She joined our team mid 2009 to help expand our sales into the Sydney & Melbourne market as well as working in cellar door. Loves wine, loves talking about wine, loves recommending wine........come have a chat and a taste with her at Darling Park Cellar Door.

Jody Bugeja

Jody teams up with John and Shane in the vineyard. He's been with Darling Park since 2001 and is an integral part of the place. Also a talented mechanic, he's a handy bloke to have around the various machines needed in a vineyard but would rather be fishing out on Westernport.  

Kristin Gregory

Kristin started learning about wine in our cellar door around 2008 and has become indispensible to Darling Park. She is always smiling, always goes that extra mile and can be found behind the tasting bench most weekends.

© Darling Park Wines 2009 yWorld