Judging the region's finest

Orange’s winemakers celebrated the fruits of their labour this past week with the team of judges singling out the best drops in the region at the 2019 Orange Wine Show.

Judges tasted their way through 340 separate entries at this year’s show, from more than 40 producers.

Local winemaker and chief steward of the Orange Wine Show, Will Rickard Bell, said the standard of wines across the board only cements Orange’s place as one of Australia’s premier wine regions.

“We’ve had three or four really good vintages and that is reflected in all the results,” said Will. “Our strong performers again were Chardonnay. Riesling, Pinot Noir and Sparkling, which seems to be on the up in the region which is good. It reinforces that we are a true cool climate region; there's not many places in the country that can do top-notch sparkling like us, so it is nice to see that trend happening across the show.”

There is no slowing down Australia’s growing appetite for Rosé, which was reflected in the number of entries in the category this year, said Will.

“Rosé is on the up and the quality is good. It is serious Rosé; dry, textural, savoury, food styles,” he said.

“And there’s more natural wines and cloudy wines and things that previously would have been frowned upon in a wine show context… you can't ignore the fact that in the market they're increasing in popularity and the judges now see them as serious styles and judge them accordingly.

“Where do I stop? We do so much, we are diverse, we grow everything from 1100 metres down to 600 metres and can ripen anything and do anything really well — it is a great strength of the region.”

More than just medals, for local producers, the annual wine show is an opportunity to compare notes and progress winemaking in the region as whole, said Will.

“It is one of the few opportunities that producers get to benchmark their wines against the best wines in the region and to discuss with colleagues and with judges where they might be going wrong and how they might improve,” said Will. “That’s what it is all about… it a collective group of growers and makers in the region that are all just trying to improve their product and improve their region as a whole, which lifts everyone up.”

This Friday, the public has a chance to try all the wine show entries for themselves, including trophy winners, at the Canobolas Hotel. It is a rare opportunity to taste the region’s best wines in one place.

“It is a one-stop-shop, every wine in the region all in one spot,” said Will. “As a consumer it's wonderful, because you get a very good overview of the region in a very short period of time… there are some very good entries there, beyond all the medals too, so be open minded and taste every single wine, you'll find some gems amongst the ones that didn't win medals.”

2019 Class Trophy Winners:

Best Sparkling — Swift NV Rosé No.3 Chardonnay Pinot Noir

Best Riesling —Tamburlaine 2019 On the Grapevine Riesling

Best Sauvignon Blanc — Printhie 2019 Mountain Range Sauvignon Blanc

Best Young Chardonnay — Gartelmann 2018 Sarah Elizabeth Chardonnay

Best Mature Chardonnay — Cooks Lot 2016 Allotment 3 Handpicked

Spiegelau Chairman’s Special Trophy — Colmar 2018 Reserve Pinot Noir

Best Rosé Style — Colmar 2019 Pinot Noir Rosé

Best Pinot Noir — Colmar 2018 Block 1 Pinot Noir

Best Shiraz — Heifer Station 2018 Shiraz

Best Cabernet Sauvignon — Tamburlaine 2017 Orange Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

Best Cabernet, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdor or Blends — Tamburlaine Orange 2017 Reserve Malbec