My first sight of Sydney was at the back a van in the early hours of a Friday evening, a full moon looming over the iconic capital city and bathing it with an iridescent glow. I was accompanied by journalists from Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, and Korea on a media trip arranged by Wine Australia, and Sydney was the last stop in a weeklong wine-filled itinerary that explored the cool climate wine regions of Victoria and New South Wales.
It might have been the tail end of our journey, but Sydney provided a fitting finale to a memorable visit, perfectly captured by an afternoon conversation with wine journalist Mike Bennie, as we poured and pored over special bottles at renowned wine bar Love, Tilly Devine the next day.
“Australian wine should paint a picture of the Australian cultural vernacular,” Mike eagerly shares, as he showcased some exciting next generation natural winemakers who have been creating wines to match the shifting lifestyle and landscape in the country. “I know this is a complex concept, since we have never really had our own culture,” he surmises, as he offered us a peek with a series of wines that have not been seen in Australia.
Mike’s perspective also creates a framework for me to better appreciate the wines we had sampled over the course of a week, which ranged from traditional grape varieties often associated with Australia (think bold Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay) to an exciting array of expressive varietals and styles within the New South Wales and Victoria area, forming a fascinating tapestry of different winemakers and their stories—the journey captured in their final bottles.
As the fifth largest wine producer in the world and the largest in the Southern hemisphere, Australia boasts of an authentic and evolving wine scene. With 65 recognized Australian geographic indication vineyard regions spread across the country, the province of New South Wales has much to offer, including the under-the-radar regions of Orange and Mudgee.
A wine revival in Orange
About 260 kilometers northwest of Sydney, the Orange wine region is located in fertile land that begins at an elevation of 600 meters. Rich basalt soil from the extinct Mount Canobolas volcano combined with the cool climate provides the ideal terroir for grape growing.
Debbie Lauritz, President of the Orange Region Vignerons Association, shared how a range of varietals have been planted in the 19,000 hectares that comprise this region, from Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Barbera, Tempranillo, Zinfandel to Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Viognier, Semillon, Marsanne, Arneis, Verduzzo, and Gewurztraminer. “We currently have 80 vineyards and 35 cellar doors,” she states.
Although grapes have been planted in the area since the early settlements in the 1900s, the revival of winemaking in the region only happened in the 1980s, with the foresight of winemakers who saw the potential of the unique climate and land.
Orange is a rich, agricultural land that boasts not just grapes, but also cherries, olives, and apples. The region’s annual F.O.O.D. (Food of Orange District) Week held every April showcases local produce, elegant wines, gourmet products, and talented chefs in a 10 day event, while the Orange Wine Festival is one to look forward to every October Philip Shaw was one of these early pioneers, starting his Koomooloo vineyard in 1988, after working in the Hunter Valley. Today, Philip Shaw wines are managed by his winemaker son Daniel and Damien, who handles sales and marketing.
“We have always had a real focus on quality,” Daniel discloses, as he recalled his father’s dream of cool climate winemaking, and in particular their Chardonnay. After taking over, Daniel was intent to continue that challenge while also pushing some other varieties of Shiraz, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Franc.
He walked us through their winemaking process, effortlessly weaving his way between barrels and fermentation tanks while expertly sharing the characteristics of their different bottles and the details that result in structured, elegant, and age-worthy wines.
Another early pioneer in Orange would be Ross Hill Wines, now run by James and Chrissy Robson. The Wallace Lane Winery is the only certified carbon neutral winery in Australia, utilizing solar panels, waste recycling programs, and rain water catchments, among others. Their 13-hectare Griffin Road Vineyard includes Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Shiraz, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Shiraz, the diversity of which excite the Robsons with interesting possibilities.
The cellar door’s modern country style interiors invite visitors to partake of wine tastings, with a free personalized tour of the winery offered before each tasting to heighten the appreciation for each bottle opened.
We had the chance to sample some dishes prepared by one of Australia’s most celebrated chefs, Michael Manners, winner of the Sydney Morning Herald Award for Professional Excellence, who also teaches at the Barrel and Larder School of Wine and Food located in the winery, pairing the flavorful local produce with Ross Hill’s equally enticing wines.
Orange is a destination teeming with wine finds, most of which can be enjoyed at their cellar doors or selected stockists.
Artisan wines at Mudgee
The next stop in the New South Wales leg was the Mudgee wine region, another undiscovered jewel with a long viticultural history stretching back to 1858. A mere 3 1/2 hours’ drive from Sydney, Mudgee’s gentle slopes and hills form a panoramic vista, where some of the country’s prolific winemakers are creating bottles reflecting their origins, with some creativity and innovations mixed in.
David Lowe of Lowe Wines is one such winemaker, who has crafted small batch wines to create bottles that preserve the unique varietal character of its origins and reflect the knowledge, experience, and care that goes into each.
He eagerly shared his philosophy of slow winemaking at the Tinja Lane cellar door, named after the historic Lowe property that has been in his family for five generations. His passion for innovative organic winemaking is something that can be seen in their Mudgee vineyards which are untrellised, unirrigated, and certified organic since 2003.
The story of Gilbert Family Wines began in 1842, with their ancestral patriarch planting the first Riesling in Australia in Eden Valley. Six generations later, the winery is now led by acclaimed winemaker Simon Gilbert and his son Will.
Their early exposure to the family’s winemaking practices proved to have a lasting impression on both, a passion that was very evident as they showed us their winemaking facility in Mudgee, which was recently recognized as a five-star winery by James Halliday in the 2019 Halliday Wine Companion.
“Be passionate about what you are doing in the wine industry,” Simon imparts as we did some barrel and bottle samples at the winery and The Cellar by Gilbert, their tasting room and wine bar which showcase current and museum released Gilbert wines paired with local produce.
Their wines embody the Gilbert ethos of cool climate winemaking, artisanal bottles that reflect the climates of origin with a contemporary appeal.
Our Australian visit may have ended, but the wine memories will certainly linger for a while. As I recall the delicious sips I had enjoyed, I also reminisce how each wine narrated the story of its winemaker and its journey from the vineyard through the barrel to the bottle.
A visit to these wine destinations is a must for cool-climate wine aficionados, especially since these wines are not yet available in the Philippines. Coupled with a thriving food scene, the warm nature of its winemakers, tasting rooms that invite visitors to linger on and its proximity to Sydney, Orange and Mudgee allow wine lovers to enjoy the pleasure of a burgeoning wine destination at a more leisurely pace.
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Photos courtesy of Wine Australia. Special thanks to Wine Australia, Orange Region Vignerons Association, and Mudgee Wine Grape Growers Association