D'Arenberg planted McLaren Vale's first Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne. The first crop was found to be covered in a sea of tiny Money Spiders Erigoninae. Popular belief is that kindness to these active little creatures will bring good luck, hopefully in the form of money. Being nature lovers and slightly superstitious, the staff refrained from sending spiders to their death. Hence the first Roussanne was not released until the following year, by which time Money Spiders had learned their lesson and moved to bushland surrounding the vines.

D'Arenberg are one of the last remaining wineries to basket press their wines. This gentle method of squeezing juice protects the delicate white grapes. The winemaking processes of the past have been maintained, capturing the unique small batch character and the true expression of McLaren Vale. Tasting the Rousanne in the vineyard, Chester Osborn chooses to pick when grapes are fully ripe to encourage good varietal stone fruit flavours. Back at the d'Arenberg wineworks, grapes are gently crushed and transferred to basket presses. Fermentations are long and moderately cool to retain fruit characters. Only free run juices are used for the final wine, unoaked and without any malolactic.