It's Winter in Australia so what else can we can do. Orange Vineyard Touring by car and local tour operator.

Let's start with, when you are planing a vineyards tour either do one with a local operator or have one of the group miss out whilst taking the group around for tastings.
DO NOT WINE TASTE AND DRIVE OR RIDE. I like to have you as a reader and I need as many as I can get.

The plan was have Friday off, drive from Sydney to Millthorpe, 2 nights accommodation and Saturday to be the Wine Tour Day. Sundaqy drve home.

I have some favourite backroads to get from Sydney to Bathurst which is on the way to Millthorpe.

Head for Richmond and take the Bells Line of Road to Lithgow, It's an easy, especially with the enforced speed limits. Hopefully once the current upgrades are done, the road will be more enjoyable.

Along the way there is a lookout at Kurragong but you have to be extra careful as you cross the traffic to get to it. On a clear day, it is well worth the stop. Speaking of stops, there are roadside cafes to enjoy a coffee / tea and the local produce encased in pastry, an apple pie is always a delight around Bilpin,

At Lithgow when you reach the Great Western Highway (McDonald's in on the right) turn left as if going back to Sydney via Katoomba. As you begin to leave Lithgow there is a Shell Service Station on the right, turn here onto Magpie Hollow Road, the small road sign advises to Rydal. Stay on this road past Lake Lyell. When you reach the Rydal-Hampden Road it's a right then left on to Sodwalls Road.
At Tarana a gentle left on to Mutton Flats Road past the hotel on the right unless you are hungry and stop. This pub is very popular with the weekend motorcycle riders. Return to or stay on  Mutton Flats Road to O'Connell Road. Turn right at O'Connell Road for Bathurst and there is another hotel just up the road at O'Connell, the O'Connell Hotel, strange they should call it that. I have had a lunch here on a past ride and it was quite good.

Stay on O'Connell Road to Kelso and at the T junction with the Great Western Highway, turn left to Bathurst.

As you enter Bathurst, follow the signs to Mount Panarama and have a leisure 60 kph drive around the scenic road which is also the site of the Bathurst Car Races. The road is 2 way so stay to the left and there are speed checks so stay at 60 kph. Take the opportunity to also visit the motor racing museum.

Heading up the Mountain. Well it's a mountain to us.

Looking out over Bathurst from the top of the track / scenic road.

Can you see me? A local is watching us.

Back on the road and you are looking for the Mitchell Highway and we are heading for Orange.
When you pass the Beekeeper's Inn, the next road is Vittoria Road and that takes you to Millthorpe.

We stayed at the Commercial Hotel which had great food in the Cork and Fork Restaurant but the sticky date pudding was more like sticky date biscuit (cookie). The service by the hotel owner and his staff was excellent. The house wine, Angullong Wines is a local drop and quite easy drinking. The cellar door is located next to the hotel.

The rooms were small and comfortable but the share facilities didn't make sense to me. The men's facility had 3 toilet stalls and 3 shower stalls, the women's had only 1 toilet and 1 shower. Our family survived so not a major drama.

Saturday morning a delicious breakfast at Millthorpe Providoire, 33 Victoria Street Millthorpe NSW 2798 which is a general store of local produce and cafe. It is located just down the road from the Commercial Hotel.

Yes it was though the sign was still inside.

How do you milk a mouse to make cheese?

Regional produce.

More Regional produce.

Even the dogs are looked after in Millthorpe.

After breakfast, Brad from Vine Venture Tours then meet us at the hotel and so began our journey of discovery of the Orange Region Wineries. Brad is a local and told as a great deal about the area.
You will have to travel with him to hear his stories about the area and locals.

Vine Venture Tours is a locally owned, fully accredited Long Distance, Tourist & Charter service offering a unique experience to discover the visual beauty and flavours of the Orange region.

When booking a tour with Vine Venture Tours you will travel with up to 11 guests in a comfortable fully air-conditioned Toyota Hiace Commuter Bus..

Travelling with Brad from Vine Venture Tours.

The first vineyard was Rowlee Wines where Nik Samodol shared the joys of his wines.

Rowlee Vineyard is situated at the foot of Mount Canobolas in Orange NSW in basalt soils with the highest point at 920 metres located at the Southern end, gradually falling to the North at 900 metres. This fall is of benefit in protection from spring frosts in assisting with the flow of cold air through the vineyard. The site also experiences falls of snow throughout winter – perfect for the production of cool climate wines.

The Rowlee Vineyard has not always been home to grapes, but rather in the mid 1800’s a large grazing property with a holding of 2000 acres. While the original size of the property has been downsized to a picturesque 80 acres, the original homestead, circa 1880’s is still as grand and maintained as her earliest of days.

The 20 acres of vineyard, first planted by Nik and Deonne Samodol in 2000 when the property was purchased, include varieties of Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling, and later expanded to include Nebbiolo, Arneis and Sauvignon Blanc.

Click on the vineyard's name above for all the details

Nik Samodol in action.

Our next stop was Cargo Road Wines where James Sweetapple shared the joys of his wines and philosophy of balance in all things.

The vineyard is one of the oldest in the region established in 1983 and is located on the Cargo Road, west of Orange. The varieties grown are Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Barbera, Zinfandel, Gewürztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling. The vineyard is largely unirrigated and planted on deep red basalt and clay based loam soils.

The vineyard was taken over by a trio from quite different backgrounds in 1997, to share an inspiration and build a future. Charles Lane, James Sweetapple and Brian Walters purchased the run down Cargo Road Vineyard in 1997. The vineyard at that time had been in existence for 14 years, making it the oldest vineyard in the Orange Region.

James has spent the subsequent years adding to the vineyard and making it into a viable business. This has been achieved on several fronts, primarily through nurturing and maintaining the property using holistic management principals. This has been in the form of weed control, pruning, canopy management and a bit more weed control. It has also improved through increased planting of all existing varieties.

The vineyard is run holistically, which means they use 'best practice' management techniques to ensure that they are always improving their land and environment, in a safe and reputable manner whilst maintaining a sustainable business. They plan to be here for a long time. They care as much about growing their grapes as they do making their wines. They nurture our vines all year round, pruning carefully, managing the undergrowth and weeds holistically. Increasing organic matter in the soil as well as overall soil health. Continuing to develop the terroir. They always harvest the grapes at the optimum level of ripeness

Click on the vineyard's name above for all the details.

James Sweetapple in action.

With a knick knack paddy wack. Give a dog a log.

Great arts works are for sales or your can get them on the bottles of wine.

Lunchtime arrived and so did we at  The Agrestic Grocer.

The Agrestic Grocer is a cafe / retail store with a focus on local real food.

Kitchen closes at 3:00 pm daily with coffee served until 3:30 pm.

They offer beer tasting of their 6 beers on a tray and they also offer cheese tasting platters.

We have arrived for lunch and Craft Beer tastings.

Plan your visit and don't be in a rush. Just saying.

Work for your breakfast cereal.

Produce a plenty.

More Produce

Music to Beer sample and eat by.

Our post lunch vineyard Heifer Station Wines.

The vineyard is located on the volcanic basalt slopes of Mt. Canobolas. Heifer Station, was once part of a much larger property which was used by Cobb & Co as a Change Station for their horse teams. Over the years Heifer Station was sub divided into smaller parcels of land and its history all but lost. In an attempt to preserve its ties to the past we have retained the name of the property that played a significant role in our local history.

In close proximity to the region’s highest peak, Mt Canobolas, Heifer Station vineyard spans 65 acres of red loam soils over limestone, rising to an altitude of 900M. In a wine region where altitude is everything, Heifer Station vineyard enjoys a near-perfect balance of elevation and sunshine, perfect for growing Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Merlot and Shiraz.

Click on the vineyard's name above for all the details.

The Tasting Room.

The tasting room but from a different angle.

The petting farm but beware of he geese.

Post petting we travel to Orange Mountain Wines. 

The owners and operators are Terry and Julie Dolle.

Their vineyards were first established in Manildra in 1997 and in Orange in 2001. They were one of the first vineyards to plant Viognier and have discovered over the last two decades that the variety has a natural affinity with Oranges unique cool climate vineyard sites, producing elegant wine that displays intense varietal characters. 

Located on the slopes of the extinct volcano- Mount Canobolas, just 10km west of Orange at approximately 900m elevation.

Terry researched the wine grape industry extensively before deciding to try something different. "There are thousands of varieties but he felt Viognier can deliver something special on these soils." His passion for a relatively unknown varietal and his ability to embrace new ideas has lead him to be recognised both nationally and internationally as an exceptional cool climate wine maker and grape grower. A tour of this small vineyard and winemaking facility with Terry shows you just how passionate he is when it comes to bringing you exceptional quality wines and personal service.

 

The winery is a small efficient traditional winery, making use of old basket presses and open fermenters leading to excellent aromatic and elegantly structured wines. The purpose built storage shed allows the wines maturing in french oak barrels, and the bottled wine to be stored at optimum temperature thus retaining the high quality that Terry has strived for. This space also doubles as a great venue for wine and food matching dinners with local chefs and of course local produce, or casual evenings of Australian films shown on the big screen with supper and of course your favourite bottle of Orange Mountain wines. 

Click on the vineyard's name above for all the details

The entry and the smaller tasting room.

Then our last vineyard for the day and one of the first in the area. Canobolas Smith Wines

The vineyard and winery was established by Murray Smith and his family in 1986.  After a lengthy search for a site with the ideal combination of climate, soil and aspect to be able to create great wine, their search led them to the northern slopes of Mt Canobolas near Orange NSW.

This is a small family company making premium quality wines from our six hectares of vineyard on the northern slopes of Mt. Canobolas near Orange, New South Wales.

The vineyard was established between 1986 and 1988 and is comprised of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir and Shiraz.

All the vines are unirrigated, close-planted, hand pruned and hand picked to optimise fruit quality.

They take an artisanal approach to wine-making.  No compromises are made at any stage of the process.  All fruit is picked in small batches at optimal ripeness and carefully sorted before processing.  They take great care to allow the wines to reflect both the vineyard and the season as much as possible, whilst maintaining a certain “house style”.  Only the finest French oak is used during maturation and flavour is retained as much as possible through minimal use of fining and filtration.

The Cellar Door is relaxed and welcoming, It is open 11:00 am to 5:00 pm Saturdays and most long weekends.

Fridays and Sundays are also good, but you will need to make an appointment.

Click on the vineyard's name above for all the details.

I am not going to mention the Motorcycle outfit I was going to discuss with Murray as my family will not let me buy it though I do have a great not just good home for it!

Arriving at the cellar door of Canobolas Smith Wines.

So what does one do when the wine tour has ended. Well we were taken to a Whiskey Saloon.
It's run by Brad's cousin who has returned from the big smoke of Sydney and set this business up.
You can get more details on Washington & Co Whiskey Saloon by clicking here.

After our big day out in the Orange Area we settle for pizza at the Commercial Hotel.

The next morning we pack our bags and booty and head for breakfast.

Our bags and booty packed.

As tempting as it is to take the cars, we walk to breakfast also have a look around this historic town.

Possibly the main street as it leads to the Railway Station.

The Grand Western Hotel circa 1901.

Multiple businesses. Rent it and rent it,

Besides the dogs, the locals look after the birds.

With a gentle downhill walk we arrive at our booked breakfast location, The Old Mill .

Set in the heart of quaint and historic Millthorpe, the Old Mill Cafe has been lovingly restored in the shop front of an old bakery. Owners Darren Tracey and Stacey Ewin are qualified chefs with many years experience under their belts.

Stacey has an established reputation in pastry and chocolate making, learning her craft at the hands of renowned Australian patissier Adriano Zumbo.

Darren is a qualified chef, originally from Ireland. After working as sous chef to executive chef Daniel Hughes at Manta restaurant in Woolloomooloo, he has developed a love of producing both fine seafood and meat dishes.

Enjoy fabulous coffee and cakes, breakfast (weekends only 9:00 am -11:00 am) and lunch (daily 12:00 noon to 3:00 pm). Dine outside in the beautiful courtyard on those warmer days and nights or enjoy the open fire in winter.

I had been told how great the pancakes were and was looking forward to trying them.
No such luck, they are no longer on the menu. The big breakfast definitely made up for it.
Important note, you will need to prebook as I watch as disappointed people had to be turned away.

The Old Mill Cafe.

The journey back to Sydney was the usual highway so no need to write about it.

We did though pack a little gift for ourselves for when we arrived home.

The welcome gift a Lemon Meringue Tart

 So that was my family weekend in the Orange Area. Just to finish, the city of Orange's history can be found here , There was talk they were going to rename it Apple City and no it is not named after the fruit.

And a final confession, The information about the vineyards is from their website so you know it's accurate.

If you and your friends would like to take this or similar trip, These can be arranged by Ride The World (Australia). who are just a click away.