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by Julie Mortimer
When Peter retired from his Rugby League career with the Canterbury Bulldogs, we decided to head back to the country to provide our young family with the same upbringing we had ourselves in Wagga Wagga. After successfully bidding on a “truck-stop” with acres near Junee, the sale fell through at the last minute as the owners reneged and it was back to the drawing board. Orange had captured our hearts with some family connections to the region and in 1993 we purchased 45 acres just north of Orange.
In 1995 we decided to plant a vineyard and with the help of our 5 young sons, we planted over 24000 vine rootlings made up of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. The following years we spent investing in the property as we established the dam, irrigation, trellis, fencing and vines. All on top of Peter being Manager at WIN Television and us raising 5 young boys. Challenging and rewarding times! We selected Simon Gilbert from Mudgee as our Winemaker and in 2001, six years after we planted our vines, we received our first bottle of Mortimer’s Chardonnay. We sat in our garden room as a family and tasted it together, a moment we will never forget.
We have since added to our wine range, planting Pinot Noir and Merlot vines. In 2004 we purchased the March Schoolhouse from the local council. The school was established in 1866 and after 110 years of servicing the local area, closed its gates in 1976. Located at the entrance to our property, it was the perfect place to open our Cellar Door and we have been busy collecting and displaying the rich 150 year old history of the old March Schoolhouse. Peter has also dusted off some of his old Bulldog’s memorabilia for display which is always a great talking point with our footy fans. We are a family business and every weekend you’ll likely find Peter, myself and few of our sons (and grandchildren) serving, playing music and sharing our passion for the wine industry at our Cellar Door.
We are extremely proud of our story and we have come a long way since buying an empty parcel of land in 1993. The most important piece of advice Peter received very early in his viticulture career was to “make wine that you are proud to put your name on”. Here at Mortimer’s wines we are extremely proud of our product, our cellar door and our story and we know you will love it too.
Garth is the name we gave to the property and is now the name of our estate range. During Peter’s last year of Rugby League in England, we lived in a small town called Burton Pidsea in a street called “Chestnut Garth”. We decided to take home a souvenir from England (being the street sign). When we purchased the un-named property in 1993, whilst unpacking we came across the Street sign we “borrowed” and proclaimed our new property as “Chestnut Garth”. The sign still sits proudly on our front gate today.
Chestnut Garth vineyard has been a labour of love for the Mortimer family. For 30 years we have been creating and maintaining a sustainable vineyard for our vines to thrive in. Our grapes are then transformed into our signature cool climate wines by master winemakers Simon Gilbert and Chris Derrez. Both multi-generational winemakers with endless awards and accolades. No expense is spared to ensure we make the finest quality wine because life’s too short to drink bad wine
The wine region of Orange, NSW is one of only two wine regions in the world defined by altitude (local GI over 600m). The city of Orange and it’s surrounding vineyards lies on the slopes of Mount Canobolas – an extinct Volcano last erupting 11 million years ago. This iconic landmark has blessed with region with rich basalt soils and exceptional terroir. The region’s altitude and large temperature range provides the opportunity for vignerons to grow wines of serious complexity and diversity, making it one of Australia’s premier cool-climate wine regions.
We welcome you to our little piece of paradise…
Opening Hours
Thursday: 12pm – 4pm
Friday – Sunday: 10am – 5pm
Phone: 0447 148 520
Email: sales@mortimerswines.com.au
Address: Burrendong Way, Orange
NSW, Australia