Orange Wineries Where You Can Stay the Night

Orange is cold, high and spread out, which makes it the kind of wine region where the last tasting of the day should end with a bed a short walk away. Eleven cellar doors in and around Orange let you stay on their own land, from a converted train carriage for two to a heritage homestead that sleeps fourteen. Every stay below is described in the words of the venue or the business that books its rooms.

The Short Version

• Eleven Orange-region wineries have somewhere to sleep on their own land, from a one-bedroom studio to a seven-bedroom homestead.
• Seven are around Orange itself, two are at Lidster, and two more are at Millthorpe and Canowindra.
• Only Rosnay's farmhouse says your dog can stay the night too, and two of the stays are strictly adults only.

Most of these are small: a studio, a loft, a cabin or a single cottage, which suits the region. Here they are by area, starting closest to town.

Around Orange

All 11 are in the free Jedhi app. Mapped, and you can filter for Accommodation anywhere in the country, so the next weekend away starts with a map instead of 11 open tabs. Free on iPhone and Android.

1) Mayfield Vineyard (Orange), five stays and a heritage homestead

Why it works:

• Their own words: "Mayfield Vineyard offers charming luxury accommodation set in a picturesque award-winning winery and historic estate on the slopes of Mount Canobolas near Orange, NSW."
• The Homestead has "up to 7 bedrooms, comfortably sleeping 14", and there are four more places on the estate: Settlers Cottage, Rose Cottage, the Overseers Cottage and the Garden Flat.
• The cellar door opens Friday to Sunday, 12pm to 5pm.

Settlers Cottage is, in their words, "one of our closest cottages to the Cellar door", so book that one if the walk home matters. The Overseers Cottage is the "original 3 bedroom farmhouse", overlooking the lake.

2) Borrodell Estate (Orange), suites for two and cottages for six

Borrodell has two kinds of stay on its working vineyard and orchard. "Set beside the orchard and vineyard, the Cider Suites offer a cosy vineyard stay designed for two", while "The Orchard Cottages are spacious, private retreats set among Borrodell's working vineyard and orchards", taking four to six guests. Breakfast provisions are included, and the SkyBar and dining are on the estate. The cellar door opens Friday to Sunday from 12pm, until 5pm on Friday and Sunday and 9pm on Saturday.

3) Heifer Station Wines (Borenore), a loft on the hill

"Perched high on the hill overlooking the spectacular Heifer Station Vineyard sits Loft House, our luxurious two-bedroom New York style accommodation." Loft House has two queen bedrooms and is adults only, with no bookings that include children under 16. The cellar door, in an old woolshed, is "just a short 2-minute drive away" on the same estate rather than a walk, and it is open seven days, 11am to 5pm.

4) Small Acres Cyder (Borenore), a cottage beside the cider orchard

The one cidery in this guide. "You will sleep nestled beside the cider apple orchard", in a three-bedroom, two-bathroom cottage that is "perfect for families or up to three couples", and every guest gets a free tasting. The cottage is booked through Airbnb. The cellar door keeps short hours, Friday 2pm to 5pm and Saturday and Sunday 11am to 4pm, and dogs are welcome outside but not in the tasting room.

5) Nashdale Lane Wines (Nashdale), two glamping cabins in the vineyard

"Two luxury glamping cabins in the vineyard", Rustig and Kalmte, each with a four-poster queen bed, and they are "Designed for adults only sorry no children or pets permitted". There is a two-night minimum. The cellar door, in an old apple packing shed with views to Mount Canobolas, opens Friday and Saturday 11am to 5pm and Sunday and Monday 11am to 4pm.

6) Ross Hill Wines (Orange), a train carriage on their other vineyard

Read this one carefully, because the bed is not at the cellar door. Loco is "This first class converted train carriage", and it sits on Ross Hill's original vineyard on Griffin Road, while the cellar door is on Wallace Lane. It has a queen bedroom, an ensuite and a dressing room, and Ross Hill call it "Perfect for a couples getaway!" It is booked through Airbnb. The cellar door is open seven days, 10.30am to 4.30pm.

7) Mortimers Wines (Orange), a studio and a loft among the chardonnay

Mortimers has two stays, both "a short 100m walk to Mortimer's Schoolhouse Cellar Door": "The Vines Studio is for 1 – 2 adults" and "The Canopy Loft accommodates 1 – 4 adults", with two ensuite bedrooms. The cellar door, in the old schoolhouse on Burrendong Way, opens Thursday and Friday 12pm to 5pm and Saturday and Sunday 10am to 5pm.

Lidster

8) Stockman's Ridge Wines (Lidster), a farmstay homestead for six

The Swagman Homestead is booked through Stockman's Ridge's own site: "Set overlooking the vineyard the homestead is an authentic Australian Farm Stay." It has three bedrooms and takes six guests. The cellar door is plain about dogs, "We're a dog-friendly winery and a great option for families", and it opens Wednesday to Friday 11am to 5pm, Saturday 11am to 8pm and Sunday 11am to 4pm.

9) Strawhouse Wines (Lidster), one apartment beside the tasting room

The smallest stay in this guide, and a quiet one: "one-bedroom self-contained accommodation", where "The apartment and adjacent tasting room is architect designed", set among old eucalypts. There is no television or wifi, and bookings are by email. The tasting room opens Friday to Sunday, 12pm to 5pm.

Further afield

10) Tamburlaine Organic Wines (Millthorpe), an apartment above the cellar door

The one stay here that is in a village rather than a vineyard. Tamburlaine on Pym is "Right above Tamburlaine Millthorpe's Cellar Door", with three bedrooms for up to six guests, a two-night minimum and "No pets / No events". The cellar door downstairs opens Friday and Saturday only, 11am to 5pm, and Tamburlaine suggests picking up food from the Millthorpe providore.

11) Rosnay Organic (Canowindra), the farmhouse that takes the dog

Rosnay is the only venue in this guide that says yes to dogs overnight: "we warmly welcome your four-legged family members, provided they are well-behaved and house-trained." The farmhouse has "one twin room and two queen rooms", a fireplace, and the "Cellar Door just 50m away". The cellar door is open daily, 11am to 5pm.

If you are towing

Two estates take campers as well. Cargo Road Wines at Lidster has "dozens of private, secluded camping spots" on the estate, and "All campervans, caravans and tents are welcome at $50 per night, per family or couple", with power on request and the cellar door open daily, 11am to 5pm. Rosnay also has a single exclusive camp site by a dam in the olive grove, with room for caravans. More stops like these are in NSW Wineries With Caravan Camping.

The Cheat Code: How to Plan an Orange Stay Without Driving Twice

Orange's cellar doors keep short, weekend-heavy hours, and they are scattered around Mount Canobolas rather than lined up on one road. The mistake is booking the bed first and the tastings second.

Book in this order:

• Pick your days, then check who is open on them. Mayfield, Borrodell and Strawhouse open Friday to Sunday only, Tamburlaine Millthorpe on Friday and Saturday, and Nashdale Lane is closed Tuesday to Thursday.
• Match the stay to the group. Two people are best served by Loco, Strawhouse, the Vines Studio at Mortimers or a Nashdale Lane cabin. Six or more should look at Mayfield's Homestead, Small Acres, Stockman's Ridge or Tamburlaine on Pym.
• Make the estate you sleep at the last tasting of the day, so the final stop is the one you can walk home from.

Two things people get wrong:

• Assuming the bed is at the cellar door. Ross Hill's carriage is on a different vineyard, and Heifer Station's loft is a two-minute drive from the woolshed.
• Assuming a dog-friendly cellar door means a dog-friendly room. Stockman's Ridge, Cargo Road and Small Acres all welcome dogs at the tasting, and only Rosnay's farmhouse says your dog can stay the night.

Pick the stay, then let the app line up everything around it. Jedhi has Orange mapped, cellar door by cellar door, so you can see which ones are open on the days you are actually there.

More wine-country stays: Hunter Valley Wineries Where You Can Stay the Night, Margaret River Wineries Where You Can Stay the Night, Granite Belt Wineries Where You Can Stay the Night, Yarra Valley Wineries Where You Can Stay the Night, Mornington Peninsula Wineries Where You Can Stay the Night, Mudgee Wineries Where You Can Stay the Night, Rutherglen Wineries Where You Can Stay the Night, Dog-Friendly Wineries in NSW and the ACT and NSW Wineries With Caravan Camping, and Barossa Valley Wineries Where You Can Stay the Night.

Bringing the dog? See Dog-Friendly Winery Stays in Australia.