Angullong Wines celebrates 25 years in Orange Region in 2023

"I'd always wanted a vineyard out of my kitchen window," she said.

"... and I said that for years and years. Now I have one."

That vineyard is Angullong Wines.

The iconic Orange wine region brand celebrates 25 years in 2023.

A family-run business - Mrs Crossing and her late husband Bill established the vineyard alongside their two sons, Ben and James - Angullong Wines has grown over the course of a quarter-of-a-century to be one of the biggest vineyards in the region.

But back in 1998 when the dream first came to fruition at the old Angullong Station, which has been sheep and cattle farm in the family for five generations, the Crossings had their doubters.

Italian varieties were largely foreign to the Orange wine region in the late 1990s, which was a time when larger scale vineyards were being constructed to join the likes of pioneering vineyards like Bloodwood, Canobolas Smith and Brangayne.

The Orange Region was young, in terms of wine production. And no one really knew what the slopes of Mount Canobolas were capable of.

Mrs Crossing remembers people would question the planting of sangiovese vine varieties on the farm: "No one is going to drink that stuff," she recalls them saying.

But that willingness to evolve and be at the forefront of a growing wine region in Orange has ensured Angullong has enjoyed plenty of success stories over the last 25 years. The award-winning Italian varieties Angullong is known for are just a few of those.

In keeping with their philosophy of making excellent value wines and to mark their 25th anniversary, Angullong has released two new vintage Chardonnays comprising the 2022 Angullong 'Fossil Hill' Chardonnay and its partner the 2022 Angullong Chardonnay.

To do that, the team pulled out old vines and planted chardonnay varieties to keep up with new trends.

"We have seen a lot of change in the region since we planted the first vines 25 years ago," Ben Crossing said.

"We have one of the most diverse range of grape varieties in the region and over the years we have changed the mix of varieties to suit our vineyard site.

"In the early days we took our guide from other regions, but now have the experience to know what works well in our vineyards to consistently grow high quality grapes.

"Chardonnay is fast becoming a regional hero, with a range of styles being produced. There is a real difference derived from vines grown at 600 metres compared to those at the higher elevations of Mount Canobolas. These differences, along with a range of winemaking styles, is what makes the Orange Region so compelling."

The Angullong vineyard sits between an elevation range of about 620m down to 590m to Canobolas' south.

At its biggest, the vineyard occupied a bit over 200 hectares. It's now been reduced back to 180 hectares.

The Angullong vineyard is partly in the Orange Region while some of the vines are in the Central Ranges.

The first wine donning the Angullong badge was a sangiovese released in 2003.

Given the vineyard's somewhat remote location, 40 kilometres south of Orange, Angullong established a cellar door in Millthorpe in 2008.

"The great thing about having a cellar door is having that home for our brand," Mr Crossing said.

Mr Crossing is hopeful the young wine region in Orange will continue to evolve in the coming years as it grows its reputation across the country. He said the future looks bright.

"It has taken time to establish. We have to work hard on positioning ourselves as a region and working out what we're good at," he said.

"We have to work hard to drag people out to the regions.

"But, looking at Orange, there's quite a few young people in the industry. It's quite good to see that. It's a good sign."

At Angullong, the Crossings mix young and old. Hatty was on Wednesday working at the cellar door alongside her grand daughter Sal.

"It's great to have family involved. We'll see what the next generation can do," Mr Crossing added.

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