The Orange Chapter of the Rotarian Wine Appreciation Fellowship was formed in 2014 following the Rotary International Conference held in Sydney that year. Since that time, apart from the COVID years, they have tried to meet at least twice a year and support local wineries while learning more about the agronomic development of the crop plus sampling the produce and evaluating its qualities.
Orange has become known as a premium cool climate wine region with a wide variety of wine varieties. It is particularly suited to cool climate Chardonnay. Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Shiraz. There are now over 50 wineries in the area. Some of the best known are Philip Shaw, Ross Hill, Printhie and Rowlee.
Our latest visit was to Colmar which features wines associated with the Alsace Region of France.
They have tried to make our winery visits affordable, keeping the cost to around $40 including a wine tasting and light food to accompany the wine. They also have asked local wineries to donate a half dozen bottles of wine for a raffle with the proceeds going to local Rotary projects or charities including the Rotary Foundation.
Over the years the attendees have gained an appreciation of the development of the wine industry in the Orange Area from its beginnings in the 1980’s to where it is now as a leading premium cool climate wine producing region in the country.
The most recent event was held at the Colmar Estate Vineyard. It commenced under a different title in 1991 with planting completed in 2000. It was purchased by Bill and Jane Shrapnel in 2013 and renamed Colmar with their affection for and love of the wines in the Alsace Region of France. They specialise in Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and light sparkling wines which are produced by their winemaker Will Rickard-Bell who specialises in small batches of high quality premium cool climate wines.