Six Orange wineries taste success in prestigious Halliday awards

Ross Hill Wines and Swinging Bridge received the top red-star awards while Hoosegg, Canobolas-Smith, Printhie Wines and Patina Wines all scored five black stars in the just-announced awards.

Ross Hill received its award for 10 years with a black-star rating while Swinging Bridge gained five red stars for a "continuing level of excellence" in delivering quality wines.

The awards website said red stars were awarded to "a winery with a long track record of excellence, having held a 5-star rating continuously for 10 years, truly the best of the best."

It said the five black-star awards related to "an outstanding winery capable of producing wines of very high quality, and did so this year."

Ross Hill Wines owner James Robson said they were first awarded the five black-star award in 2009.

"We're pretty excited," he said of the latest award.

"This is the one a lot of people strive for.

"We're the first wine company in Orange to achieve this."

Mr Robson said the awards showed the depth of quality wine across the Orange region.

"A decade ago there was only one or two of us who had got those five stars," he said.

"It shows how far Orange has come in the last decade."

He said the news helped lift the spirits of people in the local wine business with their cellar doors shut due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

Mr Robson said they were relying on sales through their wine club and online to keep operating during the crisis.

"We can't wait for the numbers to go down or for everyone to get vaccinated," he said.

Orange Region Vignerons Association president and Swinging Bridge owner Tom Ward said the team at Swinging Bridge had worked hard for many years.

"We're just a small family business that my parents started," he said.

"We are extremely proud of the achievement."

He said the awards were great news for the region.

"I think it is a really good portrayal of the region and where we're heading," he said.

"Orange is on the up and up."

Mr Ward said everyone was looking forward to getting through the COVID crisis and celebrating with a glass of local wine.

He said it was a vital time for people in the region to show their support of local businesses and order wine online.

"They can do takeaway sales but most wineries are closed at the moment," he said.

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