Our Wines
People
Meet Team Colmar – the dedicated group of people that have made Colmar Estate happen
Bill and Jane Shrapnel
Co-Founders
Wine lovers and passionate owners of Colmar Estate. It was 30 years in the planning!
Will Rikard-Bell
Winemaker
A passionate and inspiring winemaker committed to producing small batches of hand-crafted, ultra-premium wines from the pristine fruit plucked from our cool, high altitude vineyard.
Ian ‘Pearcy’ Pearce
Viticulturist
Our viticulturalist. What Ian doesn’t know about growing premium, cool climate grapes isn’t worth knowing. An advocate of ‘all great wines start in the vineyard’.
Sarah Shrapnel
Marketing and Events Manager
Sarah is responsible for all things brand-related at Colmar. She oversees everything from label designs and the website, to social media and events.
Tanzy Barnes
Cellar door manager
SuperTanzy! Knowledgeable about the wines, passionate about our mission and a whole lot of fun to boot.
The Orange Wine Region
The Orange Wine Region is known for its high altitude vineyards. The higher you go the cooler it gets, allowing a wide range of grape varieties to be grown successfully.
Most wine regions are known for one or two varieties; Orange is known for its incredible diversity. But there is one constant – the elegant, cool climate style of the wines.
1991
1991 - The first vines are planted
A mix of red and white varieties is chosen. Planting is completed in 2000 with the riesling block near the cellar door.
2013
2013 - We purchase the vineyard
Plans are made to build a house and move from Sydney to Orange.
2014
2014 - Our first vintage
A tough one, with two major rain events, yet two of our wines win trophies at the NSW Wine Awards. We realise we are onto something special.
2015
2015 - Getting the varieties right
Under-performing red varieties – cabernet sauvignon and merlot – are grafted to white varieties and pinot noir more suited to the cool site.
2016
2016 - Some big wins!
Colmar Estate blitzes the Orange Wine Show, winning five trophies including Best White Wine and Best Wine of Show.
2020
2020 - 27 trophies in five years
Colmar Estate becomes the Orange Region’s most awarded vineyard, winning 27 trophies at Australian wine shows in our first five vintages.
Present
Present - Daring to dream
We now know we can make very good wines. Our challenge for the future is to make great wines that will be savoured and discussed for many years to come.
News
In a recent article, sommeliers from some of the world’s top restaurants were asked what they looked for when choosing wines for their wine lists. I was expecting some rather dense, highfalutin answers but t...
Read more
On a recent visit to a well-known wine region we were impressed with the wines, the cellar doors and the warm welcomes of the owners. But the nearest town was a little, how should I put it, unremarkable. It ...
Read more
Wine and cheese is a match made in heaven, right? Actually, it doesn’t always work out that way. While some combinations of wine and cheese work beautifully others just don’t sing. When Team Colmar gathers f...
Read more
Decades ago, there was an intriguing red wine tasting written up in the now defunct Wine & Spirit Buying Guide. The panel of tasters just couldn’t agree on the style of wine that should be rewarded. Half...
Read more
Humans have been drinking wine for thousands of years, long before we started recording anything in detail, so the exact origins of viticulture, winemaking and wine remains a little hazy. Evidence of the exi...
Read more
‘As good as it gets’ was how one of the local winemakers summed up the 2024 vintage in Orange. The harvest was early; conditions were generally fine and dry as the fruit came in; ripeness was good and there ...
Read more