Five wineries in Orange, NSW to visit this weekend
The town of Orange is just the right driving distance from Sydney to feel you’ve escaped the big smoke, yet its burgeoning wine-growing and restaurant scene lacks nothing in sophistication.Feel like exploring what the locals are drinking in cool-country rural elegance? Choose a designated driver and try these five Orange wineries for a start.
Heifer Station Wines, Orange
There’s no doubting Heifer Station produces some great wines. The former Cobb & Co horse-change station’s 65 acres are on rich volcanic soil below Mount Canobolas, perfect for cool-climate Pinot, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris. So by all means book a tasting in the old shearing shed, but the young ’uns will also enjoy mixing it with the alpacas, chooks or baby goats in the kiddies’ farm. You’ll like it all enough to book a stay in the luxurious two-bedroom Loft House during your visit to Orange.
Nashdale Lane, Nashdale
Nashdale is the quintessential Aussie country winery, combining 60 glorious acres organically planted with classic varietals (think Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and more) and an old corrugated iron apple-packing shed that now serves as a cellar door and tasting room. Book in for a 45-minute tasting of wines grown at almost 900-metre elevation and, as an added bonus, romantics can stay the weekend under canvas in a luxurious but low environmental impacting glamping cabin with a four-poster bed, open fire and country views.
Montoro Wines, Orange
If you’re a fan of Australian Shiraz – and let’s face it, who isn’t? – then Montoro Wines should be on the to-do list because this Orange winery grows and bottles nothing else. Warm summer days and cooler nights promote growth that is long and slow, delivering soft and velvety flavours to the normally robust grapes that are handpicked and crafted into a range of reds, a rosé, a white Shiraz and even a sparkling Shiraz. Drop in for a tasting on weekends in the modernist, glass-fronted cellar door and you’ll probably leave with boxloads.
Philip Shaw Wines, Orange
A visit to Philip Shaw Wines is a chance to experience premium cool-climate wine-making at its very best. The winery is at Koomooloo, just south of Orange township and is one of the highest in altitude in Australia. Former Rosemount (Hunter Valley) and Southcorp chief winemaker Philip has handed duties over to sons Damian and Daniel who produce exquisite Shiraz, Pinot Noir and Merlot that can be tasted at the historic bluestone cellar door that was once an apple-packing shed. So book ahead for the perfect local tasting journey.
Ross Hill Wines, Orange
The cellar door at Ross Hill Wines is something to behold. The contemporary structure also has an outdoor terrace that in springtime is surrounded by blossoming cherry trees and is the perfect place to sample the winery’s wide range, grown in two vineyards of up to 1020 metres altitude with carbon-neutral credentials. So book a tasting, do a tour of the old apple-packing shed that is now the winery, or expand your culinary stills at the Barrel and Larder cooking school.
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