XANADU - Key Persons
In the classroom kitchen of Ipseoa Andrea Barbargio Cooking School in Venice-14-year-old Andrea Gasparini's journey into the world of professional cooking began. A passion born from childhood memories of the evocative aromas of freshly baked bread that sat beside him on the way home from school each day.
Returning to Australia he focused on developing and expanding the Rathbone Wine Group, seeing the expansion to include Mount Langi Ghiran in 2003, Parker Estate in 2004 and Xanadu in 2005.
In the lead up to the 2006 vintage, Darren worked with Glenn Goodall and the Xanadu team to refocus production towards quality over quantity - a focus that continues to shine through in the wines today, whilst overseeing the renovation of the cellar door and restaurant.
Today, Darren is the CEO and Winemaker of Rathbone Wine Group which still proudly remains a family owned and operated business. Darren works alongside his father Doug Rathbone (Chairman) and brother Brad Rathbone (Director of Exports, China). He splits his time overseeing the production of the wines at Yering Station, Mount Langi Ghiran and Xanadu wineries as well as developing the business across Australia and international markets. Darren is also an active wine show judge with significant judging experience within the Australian wine show system.
Darren's love of wine started at home, growing up in a family that enjoyed coming together around wine and food - it was always part of the Rathbone's family meals.
In 1995 upon Darren's graduation from Chemical Engineering, his father Doug Rathbone and uncle Graeme Rathbone purchased a vineyard site in the Yarra Valley - now Yering Station. Darren's first job was planting vines in this vineyard which was named in honour of his great grandmother, Laura Barnes. Doug noted Darren's enthusiasm, believing it was "too big to be a hobby, too small to be a business". This was the turning point where an enjoyment of drinking wine became a passionate career.
In the pursuit of knowledge and learning, Darren was accepted into the Master of Science, Oenology program at UC Davis California in 1999. Upon completion in 2002, Darren complemented his technical study by undergoing various winemaking assignments in acclaimed global wine regions including Bordeaux, Champagne and the Napa Valley.
As a Western Australian local, Rob developed a keen interest for horticulture early on in life. Initially working in the Fruit Bowl of WA (Donnybrook) throughout his university holidays, a change in scenery and long-term ambition, lead him to the Royal Australian Navy. Throughout his 15 years, Rob was a Warfare Officer amongst being responsible for developing training strategies to improve Navy trainees' qualifications throughout his last posting.