Byrne Farm opens cellar door and new woman in charge of Mary & Tex

Bushfires, drought and the COVID pandemic all took a toll on his winery, Byrne Farm. But after opening their cellar door last month, Mr Byrne is excited by the future.

"We opened softly just to get a feel for the place and test our back end out, but it's been going well," he said.

"We've obviously have had a few locals and people who know us come in. More and more we're getting people through word of mouth and who are coming from Sydney, the ACT, Hunter Valley and it's been terrific.

"We've had a lot of positive feedback on the wines and great feedback on the building and renovations. I couldn't be happier to be honest."

Mr Byrne worked as Agnew Wines' chief wine maker for 12 years prior to relocating from the Hunter Valley to Orange.

But just because he only moved to the Central West recently, doesn't mean he's not familiar with what it has to offer.

"During that time I was purchasing fruit from the Orange region to make wines," he said.

"Over that period of seeing the region develop and grow, I saw a ton of potential. I've always loved the fruit of Orange, so when I had that itch to do my own brand, I thought Orange was right up there of the regions to consider.

"We decided to do the tree change and it's certainly been an interesting couple of years, but we're excited to be on the path now."

The winery and cellar door are located at 841 Cargo Road in Nashdale.

Following the news that Marianne and Terry Nagle - of Mary & Tex Curious Emporium - decided to retire, the question of who would take over the running of the store was posed.

As it so happened, they didn't have to look far for the perfect candidate, in fact, she was right under their noses.

Kristen Plante has worked at the Summer Street store for four years now and will be the one in charge of guiding it into the future.

"Terry had always joked about it, saying 'all of this could be yours'," Ms Plante said of the step up.

"When he did ask, it didn't take long for me to think about it and say yes.

"I love the atmosphere and the work that we do, the products and the people that come in."

But just because there is a new woman in charge, don't expect things to change anytime soon.

"It's running well and because I've been here for four years and helped with how it is now, I won't mess with the formula that works," Ms Plante added.

"I've got big shoes to fill, but I feel like I can do it. Marianne and Terry have been really supportive in helping me take that next step."

The Australian Swim Coaches and Teachers' (ASCTA) NSW Conference will be held in Orange on July 9 and 10, with Olympic coach Shannon Rollason among those set to be in attendance.

The Swim NSW Conference caters to swim coaches and teachers throughout NSW. Run over two days, the conference includes guest speakers from gold licence coach Brett Winkworth, coach of one of Australia's newest Australian Dolphins and business owner Alex Clarke, Swimming NSW's Coaching Directors Jon Shaw and Chris Myers, along with Rollason.

There will be two conference streams alternating between the Orange City Bowling Club and Orange Aquatic Centre, providing education and workshops for performance coaches as well as grass-roots coaches and teachers.

Approximately 75 delegates will attend with conference, with approximately 60 being from outside of Orange and thus, staying overnight in accommodation.

Orange City Council said that being school holidays, the organisers would promote the Orange region. The conference has a total budget of $14,400.

You can book a spot at the conference via the Swimming NSW website.

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