Our great grandfather, Frederick Darling, moved to Cheshunt in 1919 following his return from serving at Gallipoli and the Western Front. He grew apples on a property bought by his parents and soon bought another property on the river to grow tobacco.
His son, our grandad, Guy, developed a respect and passion for the land and what could be grown here. After spending time in France, he developed a love of wine, particularly Bordeaux varieties. In 1970 Guy purchased what would become Koombahla and planted the first vineyard in the the area. At this time the grapes were all sold to Brown Brothers who made many award winning wines from Koombahla fruit.
In 1990, Guy and our Dad, John, started to produce small quantities of wine under the Darling Estate label. Dad took over after Guy passed away in 2008, establishing the next generation of winemaking at Darling Estate.
John is now joined by us, daughters Grace and Sophie, continuing the story in both the vineyard and winery.
Our vineyard, Koombahla, sits on the hills above Whitfield in the upper King Valley at elevations between 250m and 350m above sea level. Nestled under the Victorian Alps we get snow on the surrounding hills most years. During the summer, the breezes come down from the mountains keeping the nights cool and encouraging the vines to produce fruit with intense flavours and colour.
The vineyard is named after a magnificent brittle gum that stands at the top of the property overlooking the vineyard. At 42 meters high it has grown to approximately double the average of the species (Eucalyptus mannifera) and is listed as a tree of significance with the National Trust.
As the next generation of caretakers of this amazing place we strive to continually improve how we work, live, and grow on these soils.
