Orange Is Preparing to Pour Itself a Very Large Glass
The Orange Wine Festival
Orange Is Preparing to Pour Itself a Very Large Glass
There are festivals that require gumboots and festivals that require sequins and then there is the Orange Wine Festival. It requires only a glass, a reasonable appetite and perhaps the foresight to book accommodation before everyone else has the same idea.
Returning from Friday 16 to Sunday 25 October 2026, the festival will spread more than 40 events across ten days in one of Australia’s most distinctive cool-climate wine regions. There will be everything from tastings to intimate encounters with winemakers.
The Orange Wine Region
The Orange Wine Region describes itself as A Drop Above. Its vineyards begin at 600 metres above sea level and, in some places, climb beyond 1,000 metres. Orange is the only wine region in the world defined principally by elevation: to qualify as Orange GI wine, grapes must be grown within the designated region at no less than 600 metres. A grape cannot simply roll in from the lowlands, put on a scarf and claim to be cool climate.
This elevation shapes the wine. Cool nights and a long growing season allow grapes to ripen slowly while retaining freshness, acidity and varietal character. The vineyards spread across the slopes surrounding Mount Canobolas/Gaanha Bula, through the Towac Valley, around Lake Canobolas and towards the Belubula River.
The Orange Wine Festival Night Market
The festival begins on Friday 16 October with the Orange Wine Festival Night Market beneath the spring canopy of Robertson Park. Winemakers and chefs will gather for one of the region’s biggest annual celebrations. Visitors can wander through the park tasting cool-climate wines and local produce.
On Friday 23 October, the Agricultural Pavilion at Orange Showground will host Sip & Savour: The Ultimate Wine Tasting. More than 300 wines will be assembled under one roof, including the winners of the 2026 Orange Wine Show. This is the only evening of the year when the Wine Show winners can be tasted together, offering a journey through the region’s varieties, producers and styles.
Running throughout the festival will be the Vintners’ Table Series, featuring intimate meals hosted by local winemakers. Each course will be paired with Orange wines while guests hear the stories behind the vineyards and produce.
Orange Region Vignerons Association president and Byrne Farm chief winemaker Jeff Byrne says the festival will give visitors the chance to meet the people behind the bottles and taste wines in the places where they are grown. The program is designed for serious collectors and those who simply want to spend a spring weekend somewhere beautiful while being handed lunch.
Before the festival begins, however, there is the serious business of judging. The 2026 Orange Wine Show will run from Monday 21 to Thursday 24 September, with wines judged from 21 to 23 September and trophy winners announced at the Orange Wine Show Lunch on 24 September.
The judging panel will be led by Mike De Iuliis of De Iuliis Wines, a Len Evans Tutorial Scholar and former Chair of Judges of the Sydney Royal Wine Show. He will be joined by Corrina Wright of Oliver’s Taranga Vineyards and Steve Flamsteed of Winenet Consulting.
Mount Canobolas/Gaanha Bula
Orange’s wines also owe much to Mount Canobolas/Gaanha Bula, an ancient volcano whose weathering created the region’s deep red, basalt-derived soils. Combined with changing elevations, slopes and microclimates, these soils allow growers to produce an extensive range of styles. The region is known for Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and sparkling wine, alongside varieties such as Arneis, Sangiovese, Tempranillo, Nebbiolo and Montepulciano.
Across the region are more than 80 vineyards, over 1,100 hectares under vine and close to 40 cellar doors. These can be explored across five wine trails: the Mountain, Borenore, Cargo Road, Eastern Heritage and Town trails. Many cellar doors are close enough to combine in a single day.
Orange has been celebrated as a fruit-growing district since the 1860s, with vines first planted in the 1920s. Its modern wine industry expanded from the 1980s, the Orange GI was registered in 1996 and the first Orange Wine Show was held in 2002. Today, the region combines premium wine with acclaimed restaurants, orchards, farmers’ markets, boutique accommodation and heritage villages. Located about three and a half hours west of Sydney, it is close enough for a weekend escape but sufficiently far away to justify buying another bottle.
The full festival program to be released at the end of July
The full festival program will be released at the end of July, with tickets on sale from Thursday 23 July 2026. And should more than 300 wines in one pavilion sound slightly daunting, remember: Orange has gone to considerable geological trouble to put itself A Drop Above. It would be folly not to investigate.
