Orange wines collected 61 medals at the awards to be one of the state’s most successful regions.

Angullong Wines’ 2017 Fossil Hill Rosato joined Printhie Wines Swift cuvee chardonnay pinot noir and five wines from Hunter Valley-based Tamburlaine Wines and Tulloch Wines using fruit from Orange to claim some of the 51 gold medals on offer.

They will now move to the next stage of the awards where the 2018 trophy winners will be announced at Government House in Sydney on October 19.

Angullong general manager Ben Crossing said the Rosato was a rose made with sangiovese grapes.

“We call it Rosato because that’s what the Italians call a rose,” he said.

Mr Crossing said it was the first award the wine had collected.

“A lot of shows don’t actually have specific rose classes,” he said.

Mr Crossing said rose was becoming more popular as wine makers began making more “serious” roses.

“I think there is a lot more attention being paid in the growing and making of rose. There is a lot more people making rose now,” he said.

“I think the Australian lifestyle, the climate, is suitable to rose drinking, it’s a chilled wine.”

Printhie Wines co-owner Ed Swift said they were delighted to collect a gold medal with their sparkling chardonnay pinot noir which was made more than four years ago.

“It’s a blend of numerous vintages,” he said.

“This has a lot of depth and flavour, the real advantage is the time we give it.”

Mr Swift said sparkling wine consumption was increasing in Australia.

“It’s a positive trend,” he said.

Tamburlaine Organic Wines managing director Mark Davidson said its gold medal winners were “an endorsement of our focus on organic viticulture over the last 15 years.

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“The current demand growth for our organic wines from Orange, in particular, is surely positioning this NSW region as the organic wine capital of Australia,” he said.

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In a clear indication of how well-received Orange wine has become, 16 wineries received silver and bronze medals.

Tamburlaine collected eight medals while Colmar Estate Winery received seven medals.