Play it cool
All abuzz in the central tablelands.
01 The skies are high and the horizon feels all-encircling. There’s something fresh, open and wonderful about Orange, its prosperity built on gold-mining and consistently fertile volcanic soil that nurtures cool-climate grape vines and orchards and groves thick with apples, olives and stone fruit. The lay of the land is soft and rolling, dominated by lofty Mt Canobolas, revered by the local Wiradjuri people and an unmissable landmark amid the flat landscapes of the central tablelands. To get your bearings, and source information and maps, head to the Visitor Information Centre at 151 Byng Street; DIY walking tours walks includes a trail dedicated to poet Banjo Paterson, born here in 1864, and a stroll through the 17ha Botanic Gardens; visitorange.com.au; orange360.com.au.
*Pic in desk of Groundstone Café lunch.
02 For breakfast or a casual lunch, try the greenhouse-style Groundstone Cafe in the cultural precinct on Byng Street. A short but well-considered menu of burgers, bowls, blended juices and salads is served amid shelves of thriving pot-plants, staff are super-friendly and the space is light and airy. Right next door is the free-entry Orange Regional Museum, venue for changing exhibitions, and with an excellent retail corner of district-made crafts and organic produce, including honey, soaps, hand scrubs and preserves; groundstone.com.au; orange.nsw.gov.au.
03 Byng Street is a long, wide boulevard segmented by lavishly large roundabouts and lined on many of its 14 blocks with heritage villas and mansions. The Byng Street Boutique Hotel at No 62 is Orange’s most stylish place to stay (T+I; July 25-26); the 22-room property, a meld of historic mansion and new annexe, opened a year ago and focuses on local design and hands-on hospitality. Pop into The White Place (No 100) to fossick homewares, clothing, jewellery and skincare products arrayed in colour themes across a series of rooms in a converted cottage. Pause at restored public buildings bristling with statues of the great and good, all of which testify to tangible civic pride. Have brunch (a lengthy affair from 7am-2pm) at Byng Street Local Store (No 47); byngstreethotel.com.au; thewhiteplace.com.au; byngstreet.com.au.
04 About 10 minutes’ walk west from the CBD, on a block bounded by Summer, Kite, Sampson and Clinton streets, National Trust-listed Cook Park is a well-maintained 4.5ha oasis of big old trees such as oaks and elms, an aviary, fountain, conservatory filled with begonias from February to April, a fernery and fine octagonal bandstand. Laid out in 1873, it has a touch of high Victoriana about it, with regulated flowerbeds and radial pathways. Southern hemisphere plantings include a bunya bunya pine and a Tasmanian blue gum; environmentnsw.gov.au.
05 You’re in high-altitude grape country, with about 40 winery cellar doors, and almost all offer tastings. According to my car’s GPS, every vineyard address I load is “13 minutes” away; signs announcing “wine trails” appear at every turn. We might be talking country miles and measurements here, but it’s a short drive beyond the town’s perimeter to a range of the best and most visitor-friendly.
At Philip Shaw Wines on evocatively named Shiralee Road, the tasting room, in a converted century-old barn, is kitted out like the smartest of city brasseries and the charcuterie plate is top-class. Red hot poker perennials flame against old stone walls and relocated pioneer buildings, including a converted buttery, are popular for events. Book ahead for tastings at all vineyards; restrictions on numbers and social distancing regulations apply. Ferment Orange Wine Centre (87 Hill Street) represents about 20 boutique wineries and a handful of gin distilleries; local companies offering escorted excursions focused on food and wine are Silver Compass and Orange Wine Tours; philipshaw.com.au; orangewinecentre.com.au; silvercompasstours.com.au; orangewinetours.com.au.
06 Some wineries enhance the tasting experience with picnic baskets to be sampled at locations around their estates. Rain and icy winds get in the way of my dejeuner sur l’herbe at Rowlee Wines, a single vineyard holding on Lake Canobolas Road. But, no matter, I head to an outbuilding with comfy chairs and upright heaters to dig into a wicker hamper of local olives, cheese, cured meat, bread, butter and lavosh crackers. I am delayed about 10 minute for my next winery visit so the Rowlee manager rings ahead and has a jolly chat with his neighbour. “Susan’s on her way and she’s been fed!” It’s a small moment but one that reflects a sense of close community; rowleewines.com.au.
07 So, I have been handed over, with care and charm, into the hands of Heifer Station Wines on The Escort Way. The tasting room, in a former woolshed, is settler-chic in style and its high elevation on the northwest slopes of Mt Canobolas ensures reaching views. Chardonnay, pinot gris, pinot noir, merlot and shiraz dominate the list. At most wineries, designated drivers can usually find non-alcoholic Golden Knot sparkling cherry and apple cider from Orange district producer, Small Acres; heiferstation.com; smallacrescyder.com.au. (cyder CORR)
08 For a gourmet meal to rival the state’s finest, Charred Kitchen & Bar is the talked-about ticket. Ranged over several spaces, including window booths, it’s got an upbeat cellar feel, stone floors, and a warm atmosphere courtesy of Lucifer, the Hades-hot charcoal and wood oven used to fire up ingredients in an ever-changing array of seasonally inspired dishes created by head chef Liam O’Brien.
The night of my visit, the four-course tasting menu ($90) is a perfectly orchestrated progression, from Farmer Doug’s potato and parmesan dumplings through to a zesty mandarin granita. That spud farmer, by the way, is agricultural scientist turned gourmet potato producer and advocate Doug Dagg, who farms at Browns Creek, about 30 minutes outside Orange. Sommelier David Collins, a very natty dresser, oversees the paired selection of parish wines (add $45); charred.com.au.
09 On the Summer Street main drag, Mr Lim is a bright and groovy diner decorated with Chinoiserie motifs, old chests and brass lights. The tick-the-box dim sum-style menu fuses Chinese and Korean cuisine and includes daily specials and house-made egg noodles.
Stand-out dishes included scallop and prawn dumplings with Sichuan peppercorn and it’s all hip and happening, like a transplant from Hong Kong’s Lan Kwai Fong. Be warned that when Covid-19 restrictions are lifted, weekend evening karaoke sessions will be in full swing and convivial long-table dining back on track; mrlimorange.com.
Best beds
10 Nick and Tanya Segger of Nashdale Lane Wines are not just vignerons but hoteliers with a difference. Their “guestrooms” number just two, and come with no keys, simply because there are no doors. Welcome to grown-up camping, NSW country style. The pair of sturdy Dutch-made two-person shelters are angled about 20m across from the cellar door building, which has been converted from a 60-year-old apple-packing shed and glammed up in sleek, minimalist style, with reconditioned corrugated iron and cement. Each tent has an integrated hardwood deck with sunken seating and barbecue, while beyond the canvas flaps, it’s all Hobbit-like cosy. Even in winter, there are no draughts or chilly blasts, thanks to a combination of wood-burning heater with an effective flue, electric blanket, oil heater and layers of merino fleece atop the duvet on the queen-sized four-poster. The ensuite has a shower with strong water pressure and the kitchen nook is a miracle of storage, with everything needed to hand. Breakfast baskets are available, and there’s strong coffee and tea to start the day, plus a larder of local olive oil, oats, muesli and dairy-fresh milk. A bottle of ruby-bright Nashdale Lane tempranillo is just the drop to toast the sunset in this big-sky region. The night of my stay, the drift from day to night appears as a cyclorama of every imaginable red, orange and scarlet. The tufty sirrus clouds are as pink as party cake icing, Mt Canobolas has turned to a looming shadow, the blocks of shiraz and pinot gris vines are now etched in a deepening black, and all seems right with the world.
Susan Kurosawa was a guest of Destination NSW.
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