Best wines from Orange NSW
As Australia’s penchant for cool-climate wines continues to grow, so has an appreciation of wines from Orange, the only Australian wine region defined by altitude. These elevated vineyard sites have elevated expectations of what Orange can produce. With 1075 hectares of vineyards planted from 600 metres up to 1150 metres at the highest sites, the Orange wine region (located about 250 kilometres west of Sydney) has become a new hub for the serious production of grapes that excel in cooler conditions – especially chardonnay, riesling, pinot noir and an escalating interest in shiraz.
These wines, coming off rich volcanic soils around the base of extinct volcano Gahnna Bulla (Mount Canobolas), are finally winning acclaim at wine shows, being listed at top-end restaurants, and earning the approval of consumers for retaining crisp acidity that promotes bright, clean flavours.
The journey to achieve such kudos has taken time, with much changing since the first commercial vineyard was planted in 1980. Initially viewed as a bountiful fruit source for wine companies based in other regions, Orange came to redefine its output after wine grape oversupply saw an exodus of external grape buyers in the early 2010s. It prompted the rise of local boutique wineries focused on viticulture improvements that reduced yields and significantly raised quality.
Such changes were noted within the wine industry and reputations among the region’s 80 vineyards and 37 wine producers began to flourish, enabling Orange to emerge from the shadow of Mudgee, the big-volume epicentre of wine production in the New South Wales Central Ranges region. It also prompted a league of highly skilled winemakers to resettle in Orange, keen to fix their attention on cool-climate winemaking.
New generation of Orange winemakers
The influx of talent includes former Stonier winemaker Jonathan Mattick, who purchased the Canobolas Smith vineyards and winery in 2022 and renamed it Canobolas Wines. “I saw what others were starting to do in Orange, achieving excellence, and that motivated me to move,” says Jonathan. “I fell in love with the site, converted it to organic viticulture, and then applied fresh ideas for how to make better quality chardonnay. What I’ve done fits into the reframing of the Orange region, which is much more complex than people expect. Vineyard improvements are more accurately reading the climate and conditions to produce wines that better reflect the personality of each site.”
ChaLou Wines
Nadja Wallington and her husband Steve Mobbs have travelled the world making wine, but decided to stay in Orange after working a vintage for Philip Shaw Wines in 2014 and being impressed by what they saw. “I was struck by changes occurring throughout the region and saw an opportunity for us to be a part of it, to make great wine,” says Nadja. “Coming to Orange offered us a rare chance as young winemakers to do something significant for ourselves, and to control the entire bud-to-bottle process.”
The couple set up the impressive Chalou Wines label after buying an established six-hectare vineyard, and having divided their time over the past decade to also make wines for other small Orange producers, they now devote themselves to making their estate wines. Acknowledged as the Dark Horse Winery in the 2025 Halliday Wine Companion Awards, Chalou specialises in chardonnay, riesling, pinot noir and shiraz – and Nadja has planted some chenin blanc.
“There’s great versatility when you plant vines at altitude, and we are seeing some exciting new expressions emerging. We have chenin, and others have successfully planted nebbiolo, mencía, montepulciano…and that’s the benefit of being a young region. With better vine clones available and greater experience among the winemakers who live here, we have the chance to write an exciting new chapter in the Orange wine story,” she says. “We’re all quite ambitious small producers – and the voice from Orange becomes louder when we all speak together.”
Top wineries in Orange
New enthusiasm has been built on the strong foundations laid by Philip Shaw, the former Rosemount chief winemaker who left the Hunter Valley in 1989 and chose Orange as his home to strive for excellence. He planted his Koomooloo vineyard, which provides for Philip Shaw Wines (now run by his sons Daniel and Damian Shaw), while Philip focuses on the Hoosegg label, which produces tiny amounts of chardonnay and full-bodied reds from a select part of Koomooloo – but only released from exceptional vintages. The veteran winemaker describes this as his last big shot at making exceptional wine. “Philip spent many years traversing Australia to find a cool-climate site to make wines of elegance and purity. The Orange region has met the criteria in spades,” says Daniel.
Orange chardonnay
Other wise old heads include Gerald Naef, who has made wine in Orange for more than 20 years. Respected as the person everyone goes to for advice, his brand Patina and its exceptional chardonnay earned Gerald a nomination for the 2024 Halliday Winemaker of the Year. This focus on outstanding chardonnay is duly respected by the emerging generation. Swinging Bridge is the premium label that has elevated the Ward family’s grape-growing enterprise thanks to winemaker Tom Ward, who won Wine of the Show at the 2024 Orange Wine Show with his Swinging Bridge Reserve Chardonnay.
However, it’s not all about chardonnay. Jeff Byrne moved from the Hunter Valley to create Byrne Farm vineyard with chardonnay and pinot noir plantings in 2020, but has also been contracted by Ben Crossing at Angullong Wines to steer the development of emerging varieties. Through this partnership, the Angullong Crossing Reserve Shiraz was awarded Best Red Wine at the 2024 Orange Wine Show. It’s not an isolated success. Three years after Andrew Higgins moved from McWilliams to be head of winemaking at Tamburlaine Organic Wines, he took five trophies at the NSW Wine Awards for his 2023 Tamburlaine Reserve Orange Syrah – a fitting reward for effort, as this variety is difficult to ripen above 800 metres, with small yields and is often prone to botrytis. Such awards are making Orange sceptics reconsider the region and its wines.
Best Mudgee wineries
It seems ironic that Orange is basking in the spotlight ahead of Mudgee, its much larger, older cousin located about 180 km to the north, which first attracted large wineries to plant broad-scale vineyards back in 1974. Now there are more than 30 wineries in the Mudgee region and almost 2000 hectares under vine, featuring such notables as Robert Oatley Wines, Huntington Estate, Robert Stein Vineyard, Vinifera Wines, Bunnamagoo and Logan Wines.
There is also fresh energy from the likes of Will Gilbert, a sixth-generation winemaker who works with his father Simon at Gilbert Family Wines (their great-great-great-grandfather Joseph Gilbert planted vines in South Australia’s Eden Valley in 1842). With a focus on riesling, pinot noir, chardonnay and shiraz, they have also pulled focus on superior cellar door experiences in The Cellar by Gilbert, a handsome sandstone tasting room on the outskirts of Mudgee that provides tutored tastings across the three ranges of Gilbert wines, in the company of grazing plates for lunch.
Where to eat in Orange
Longstanding annual food festivals have established Orange’s reputation for quality dining, led by F.O.O.D Week (Australia’s longest-running regional food festival) that runs over 10 days during April, and the Orange Winter Fire Festival, with both showcasing local farmers and chefs at markets, celebration dinners, workshops and visits to farms, orchards and kitchens. If you find yourself in the region outside of these events, here’s a list of restaurants to add to your list:
Printhie Dining
A dedicated winery restaurant (pictured above) that focuses on local produce and native botanicals. To complement Printhie’s trophy-winning Swift Vintage sparkling wine, chef Jack Brown (formerly of Berowra Waters Inn and NOMAD Sydney) produces an innovative five-course set menu.
Charred Kitchen & Bar
Awarded two hats in the 2023 Good Food Guide, its innovative tasting menu features dishes cooked entirely in the restaurant’s bespoke charcoal oven.
Tonic
This Millthorpe establishment offers a five-course set menu that changes every week. Notable highlights have included vichyssoise with Millthorpe truffle and a decadent duck lasagne.
The Schoolhouse Restaurant
Located inside the expansive Union Bank venue, with an extensive list of tapas plates to share in the company of a diverse regional wine list.
Asian influences
Diverse Asian culinary influences can be found at Mr Lim, a buzzy Chinese/Korean/Australian diner; Raku Izakaya (especially the omakase menu); and Mr Sushi King serving Japanese dishes, and Sweet Sour Salt for creative pan-Asian dishes.
