Less than a year ago Orange cellar doors were barred from conducting tastings and wineries had major financial concerns due to the strict coronavirus rules.
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Today they are enjoying days of being booked out for tastings and seeing strong sales as tourists unable to go overseas or interstate have turned their attention to the region.
Colmar Estate owner Bill Shrapnel said they used to open to the public only on weekends.
There is such a positive vibe about Orange
- Tom Ward, ORVA president
Now demand is so great they open seven days a week. "Demand has been strong since June," he said.
"We opened for seven days since August."
Mr Shrapnel said his customer base had changed.
He said he was noticing the bulk of customers now were older and had a greater knowledge of wine.
Mr Shrapnel said there were now "a lot of frustrated overseas visitors" coming to the winery.
He said the coronavirus rule requiring people to book for tastings in advance had been so successful he would be keeping it when the pandemic was over.
"We will maintain it going forward," he said.
Mr Shrapnel said it had 'smoothed' out the process of tastings making it easier to handle demand than before when people just walked in.
"You'd have no one at 12 and six people at two o'clock," he said.
Orange Region Vignerons Association president Tom Ward said many tourists were visiting Orange region wineries.
"We're seeing a lot from the Sydney and Canberra areas, plus locals with family and friends," he said.
"There is such a positive vibe about Orange. Word of mouth is the most powerful [method]" he said.
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