Orange Wineries and Things to do...

[TravisW]

Hit me up on the best-of-the-best Orange stylezzzzz.

Wineries, cafes, restaurants, etc.

Cheers in advance.

Travis

[Phil H]

Hi Travis, I take it you mean the Orange region in NSW, and not Orange style of wines. If so my general opinion- varieties that I enjoy from the region - Cab Sav, Pinot, Chardonnay, Riesling, and maybe even Merlot. I have not found many Shirazs that I enjoy.
Wineries worth checking out-
Bloodwood - need to book ahead, very personal, need about 3 hours - a bit of a unique experience.
Highland Heritage - Wines reasonably priced, check out the Pinot & Cab Sav
De Sallis- I have not been there but I have heard good things about their Pinot. Can be expensive
Ross Hill - good range of wines, larger scale
Philip Shaw- large scale - not certain if worth checking out - expensive
Patina- once again have not been there but have enjoyed their wines. May have to book ahead.A lot of their reds are held back and released in their drinking window.
Canablos Smith - Chardonnay and Cab blends
Cafe - check out the aggrestic grocer
The wineries are scattered around each side of Orange so there is some travel time involved so plan your visit.
Milthorpe is worth checking out - like tavelling back in time by 100 years.
If you can't get to all the wineries check out Kellys Bottle shop (near train station)who stock a lot of Orange Region wines at prices sometimes cheaper than the cellar door.
Hope this helps out, and take some warm clothing - entering the season where it can snow.

[Michael R]

Had an enjoyable lunch at Lolli Redini late last year, worth a look.

[sjw_11]

Philip Shaw- large scale - not certain if worth checking out - expensive

I have only been to Philip Shaw once, and that was a couple of years ago but I was genuinely impressed by the quality of the wines and suggest it is worth checking out.

This will probably get me thrown out of the forum, so I am only going to whisper this... one of the things I think Orange does particularly well is Savvy B

[Phil H]

Hi Sam....okay I may have to join you - if I was going to drink Sav Blanc I would drink it from Orange...yes it is worth trying....
While I am writing a few extra points...
Highland heritage is not the most warm cellar door (old rail carriage) but you drive past it approaching Orange. They now have a premium Cab Sav & Shiraz called the Patrono(or sim). I have not tried it but its on my list to do.
I have relatives in Orange and they recommend Heiffer Station for an afternoon lunch, their wines I have tried from there are okay, but nothing special. Check out their website.

[TravisW]

Thanks for the info guys. I'll report back with what we did and where we went.

Anymore advice would be gratefully received.

Cheers, Travis

[Phil H]

Hi Travis, just caught up with a few of Orange wineries at the Sydney Good Food & Wine Show. Tasted the entry level wines from Philip Shaw, as well as a few from Ross Hill - family series & Pinnacle range. Once again a little bit disappointed, enjoyed the smaller wineries - swinging bridge, & see saw wines, however I believe they don't have a cellar door.
Definitely try to get to Bloodwood & some of the smaller wineries.
Look forward to your impressions.
Good luck with the weather - just checked the forecast, getting to minus 6 degrees on the weekend.

[rooman]

Philip Shaw- large scale - not certain if worth checking out - expensive

I have only been to Philip Shaw once, and that was a couple of years ago but I was genuinely impressed by the quality of the wines and suggest it is worth checking out.

This will probably get me thrown out of the forum, so I am only going to whisper this... one of the things I think Orange does particularly well is Savvy B

I stopped past Philip Shaw last month on the way west. It is a nice operation, up high with a view and decent whites. They do a tasting routine for a cost but the location is worth it.

Mark

[TiggerK]

Patina were very good with a lovely location and view, they're on the main road heading into Orange from Sydney. Would be high on my list.

Enjoyed the asian food at Sweet Sour Salt. Wanted to go to Loli Redini but tried too late to book. Agree that Agrestic Grocer was very nice too for breakfast and lunch. Enjoy!

[TravisW]

Thanks for all of your tips guys. We had a great time in Orange in the depths of Winter. Blue skies and no wind for most of the time we were there.

We stayed at the Templer's Mill, which is owned by the RSL. Newly renovated and a good central location for food and wine bars. You could also use the RSL's gym and indoor 25 meter swimming pool. Our daughter LOVED the pool.

https://www.templersmill.com.au/

We limited ourselves to one cellar door a day.

Patina: Lovely position on top of a hill. The cellar door is in the back of the owners house. Nice log fireplace. I couldn't get my head around the wines. We bought a Riesling a basic Chard and a 2007 Cab Merlot. Not sure what a 2011 Rose was doing in the line-up. It was pretty average. The NV Pinot was also lost on me. Rieslings OK, Chards a bit out of balance, dog very cute.

http://www.patinawines.com.au/

De Salis: Stunning position high on a ridge with sweeping views over vineyards. Wines were excellent. Restrained and well made. Good balance of fruit and oak. Built to last. Mainly Chard and Pinot but they are moving towards doing more sparkling: A BdB, BdN, NV, Vintage and Rose. Watch this space. Lovely guys who knew their stuff and were disarmingly honest. Worth the drive out of town.

http://www.desaliswines.com.au/

Angullong: Out of town cellar door in the cute neighbouring "village" of Millthorpe. Lovely cellar door and staff. I think the best way to describe these wines is "VFM". Excellent bang for your buck. While De Salis was shooting for the stars, with high prices as well, Angullong are really trying to nail down a large range of wines at 3 price points. All were well made but no rocked my socks. We bought a few of the Italian varietals: a Sagrantino and a Barbera. It will be really interesting to see what wines they concentrate on by 2027.

http://www.angullong.com.au/

Food: Excellent VFM compared to Canberra.

Charred: Huge servings of wine by the glass. OK list. Nice middle of the road restaurant. Perfect for a Sat night. Packed! Good fun staff and plenty of room.

http://www.charred.com.au/

Mr Lim: Excellent Korean BBQ and Chinese. Packed on a Sunday night with people waiting for a seat, having a drink. Once again very good VFM.

https://www.mrlimorange.com/

Union Bank: Busy again on a Monday night. Staff and wine were just a touch off the mark. Slightly lacking attention to detail. Bottle of wine was served warm, so a bit of a delay while sorting ice bucket. Food delicious. Nice log fire. OK VFM.

http://www.unionbank.com.au/

Cafes: Best coffee was at Good Eddy. Excellent. Even saw the hosts of Playschool in there, including the pianist! Highlight for our daughter. Byng Street Cafe and Local Store was urban hip meets country size corner store. Lovely breakfast with a view over a classic WIIIIIDE country street.

http://www.goodeddy.com.au/ http://www.byngstreet.com.au/

Special mention to Scrumptious Cafe. Looks bog standard walking in. Coffee is so-so. Food is very, very good for a "cafe" and everything on the menu is available for take-away. Wrapped like your Mama used to. Perfect to take away for a walk near Mt Canobolas.

Best wine bar by far was Ferment. Just around the corner from us. Result! Excellent range of wines by the glass.

https://orangewinecentre.com.au/

The buzz on the ground is that half of the town is made up of young families relocated from Sydney. With a Uni and a swish new hospital what's not to like?

Orange, do it in Spring or Autumn to make the most of the gorgeous parks and botanical gardens.

Cheers, Travis

[Phil H]

Thanks Travis, reminds me I am long overdue to visit my relatives. I was interested in your opinions on De Salis, as I have a couple of their pinot's, but have not tried them. I was also interested in Patina, as I have had a couple of good bottles from them, but the last bottle I tried left me a bit disappointed. Agree on Angullong, good value with a few different varieties.

[shauno]

Bloodwood make nice wines - need to make an appointment though...