In a little under 40 years the Orange Wine region has produced some household names among wine buffs. Philip Shaw, Bloodwood, Ross Hill, Printhie, Swinging Bridge are just a few names that infiltrate the wine lists of the country's best restaurants.
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Bringing notoriety to Orange and happily competing against heavy hitters from surrounding regions, we thank the pioneers for their trailblazing efforts and incredible success that defined a winemaking generation.
The last coupe of years has been tough, tough on the entire region. We know the tune, drought, fires, smoke, COVID.
Heading now to what is hopefully the other side we start to turn our attention to the new breed, the next generation of wine makers for the region, those that when 2030 roles around we will be looking back on with the same admiration as their predecessor.
Nadja Wallington:
Growing up with vines on her doorstep it isn't mere destiny that Nadja has ended up in the wine industry it is genetic.
Nadja is always busy, driven and if there is a wine show committee, tasting group or some meeting of minds to better develop the Orange Wine Region you can bet that her hand will be the first one raised to help out. Residing as a winemaker at Philip Shaw Wines Nadja is carving out her name in the industry with exciting plans for the future.
Steve Mobbs:
Top 50 young gun of wine, easy going, but driven to understand all that is grape to glass. Steve is my favourite person on planet earth to blind taste with a glass of wine.
You can watch him taste and pull apart the wine right in front, his brain ticking over as he refuses to give in to mystery before him.
His new Dreaded Friend Grenache label is nothing short of spectacular, relying on grapes from Canowindra, he is able to highlight an untapped potential of our surrounding areas
Luke Steele
The next generation of Ross Hill wine making is here. Focused on carbon neutrality, environmentalism and a family ethos the Robson's have lucked out by giving the former Lerida Estate winemaker a very exciting chance in a very exciting region. With a resume that includes stints at Skillogalee, Jim Barry and even the Finger Lakes in New York State, Steele brings a fresh approach with new ideas that will see Ross Hill throve well beyond 2030.
Mitch Svenson
If there is standout in Orange for the new wave of winemaking styles its Mitch Svenson. But just some hipster come lately trying to jump on a bandwagon is far from who Mitch is.
Taking a different approach to winemaking is wonderful thing but Mitch has brilliant knowledge of classic wine styles and what it takes to make a well-structured wine. Instead of joining the gaudy cue of poorly made skin contact whites and Pet Nats that are just plain awful,
Mitch is showing brilliance in his wine making with a clear thought process that leads to excellence. Watch for his Olaf Knight series.
David Collins is the restaurant manager and sommelier at Charred, he has been studying wine and the wine industry for several years and will write a wine column for the CWD every second Saturday.
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