Country NSW
Some of Mudgee’s best wineries have restaurants, including di Lusso, Lowe Wines, Moothi Estate Vineyards and Robert Oatley Vineyards. In town, Roth’s Wine Bar serves local wines. The Wineglass Bar & Grill’s menu features fresh local produce.
In the Orange region, three of the best restaurants are the award-winning Racine, Lolli Redini and Tonic. Some of the top wineries include Angullong, De Salis, Philip Shaw and Ross Hill. The area has more than 80 vineyards and over 40 cellar doors.
About Country NSW
Some of Australia’s oldest and prettiest towns are in country NSW, where agriculture prospers in fertile soils. Pioneering history, fresh picked produce and fine wines attract visitors.
Orange and Mudgee are popular wine regions. In Dubbo, about 90 minutes’ drive from Mudgee, is Taronga Western Plains Zoo where you can camp within a roar of the animals. You can tour the Murray, Australia’s longest river, aboard a paddle-steamer or stay on a houseboat.
Wine tasting and visiting farmers markets are two of the many things to do in this vast and diverse region. You’ll find quality restaurants, pubs and cafés, and a range of places to stay. There are walking trails and tours in remote national parks across country NSW. And Tamworth, in northern inland NSW, is home to one of largest country music festivals in the world.
Orange is a bustling regional centre, 3h 30 mins drive from Sydney. Rex Airlines flies to Orange from Sydney. Orange is the birthplace of poet Banjo Paterson, who wrote The Man from Snowy River and Waltzing Matilda.
The charming tree-lined streets of Mudgee are a two-hour drive from Orange and 3h 30 min from Sydney. You can fly direct from Sydney to Mudgee, a winegrowing area since the 1850s. You’ll find plenty of food and wine attractions, including 34 cellar doors where you can buy direct from the winemaker.
Other popular locations for food and wine in country NSW are Yass, in the Canberra district, and the Southern Highlands. Like Orange, they produce cool-climate wines. Yass is three hours’ drive from Sydney. While there, follow the Poachers Way food and wine trail.