Recent Achievements of Swinging Bridge

Across our four series of wines, we’ve received a lot of recognition. We’re very proud of the identity and quality we have become known for across Australia, showcasing the unique and not to be overlooked climate of Orange. 

One of our most proud achievements of this year so far includes being rated 5 red stars by Halliday Wine Companion 2023, with our M.A.W. Pinot Noir being awarded 95 points by Shanteh Wale, three-time Good Food Guide Sommelier Of The Year nominee. Shanteh writes in her review for Wine Pilot that the M.A.W. ‘slinks its way into your heart at a price unmatched’, adding that it is the epitome of elegance, vintage after vintage. The response to this wine has been extremely positive, having also received 92 points from The Wine Front. As the M.A.W. is a tribute to Mark Andrew Ward, the founder of Swinging Bridge and the father of our winemaker Tom Ward, we’re thrilled to see such a special wine received so well.

It’s not only the M.A.W. From our Winemaker Series attracting attention, our Eliza Riesling, named after Tom’s daughter, was also rated 93 points on The Wine Front, where it is described as ‘fragrant, with depth, juiciness and ending with a delightful lemon sorbet finish’. The Eliza currently features first on our tasting sheet in the cellar door, and we’ve noticed many previously ‘anti-reisling’ tasters to be pleasantly surprised and even persuaded to give the grape another chance.

From our hashtag series, a series of ‘experiments’ from Tom, we received a glowing review in March 2023 of our #009 Gamay 2022 from Kasia Sobiesiak published on The Wine Front, rated 93 points and described as simply beautiful, being a ‘lithe expression of Gamay’. Kasia also enjoyed our #003 Amber 2022, writing that it is ‘perfectly detailed and very pretty, suggesting its similarity to a light, savoury rose’. She gave us a score of 92 points for the amber. It’s exciting to see this unique series become so popular with such a wide range of our customers, despite steering away from the traditional style of winemaking used across our other wines.

We were also delighted to be listed in the Real Review Top Wineries of Australia 2023, a certificate awarded for consistently excellent wines, recognised as one of the top 250 wineries of the country amongst just a small handful of others in the region. It has been so wonderful to see Orange gaining momentum as a wine region, and a pleasure to see so many more people coming to visit and try the wines that it has to offer. We’re excited to see the region grow further, and look forward to the response of our 2023 vintages, which are due to be released later this year.

The most recent acknowledgement of our premium experiences at the cellar door includes being one of just two wineries in Orange who are a part of The Ultimate Winery Experiences of Australia. This is a collection of 30 specially selected wineries across the whole country, recognising them as unique and special places to visit .

Finally, we were very happy to do so well locally at the annual Orange Wine Show Awards towards the end of last year. Not just for our wines (Best Red, Best Exhibitor, Wine of Provenance, Best Older Chardonnay, Best Pinot Noir and Best Shiraz) but also taking home the prize for Cellar Door of the Year. An exciting achievement following the renovation and extension of our cellar door earlier on in the year. Come and see it for yourself while you taste our award winning wines.