LONG WEEKEND @ RIKARD: opening hours.
Join us for wine tasting experience this Easter long weekend.
OPEN Saturday, Sunday & Monday 11am - 5pm.
Book ahead to secure a seat, we’d love to see you and share our wines! 🍷

#rikardwines #iconicsmallbatchwines #orangensw ...#adropabove #orange360 #orangewineregion

A SMALL BATCH OF THE BEST PEOPLE @ RIKARD: cellar hand and viticulturist in training, meet Aaron - currently clocking in his 4th vintage at RIKARD.

What excites you about the 2025 vintage?
Everything looks incredible! It’s going to be a cracking year for Pinot and Riesling. Much of ...which has come off the vineyards we manage so it’s very rewarding to see our hard work paying off!

What led you to your passion in wine?
I have been making alcohol (beer, cider, mead, wine…) since I was 18 after my dad bought me a home brew kit for my birthday. Another passion of mine is growing things, especially food.
When I came to the conclusion that I wanted to change careers from hairdressing, I realised I could combine my passions in the wine industry. So I started studying viticulture, bought a house, packed my stuff and moved to Orange. 6 years later, here I am.

Is there a wine you’re keeping for a special occasion?
I’ve got this magnum of 1999 Cab Sauv I won in a karaoke competition when I was about 20. Not entirely sure why but I’ve never opened it…

What do you love about being part of the Rikard team?
Great peeps. An absolute wealth of knowledge to be around. Plenty of chuckles. The view!
But one of the best bits is we are all in every aspect of the process.
We get our hands dirty at every stage from pruning to growing to making to bottling to selling. The contract side of the business also allows us to play with varieties of grapes we wouldn’t see in the Rikard labels. It’s a very educational space to be in.

#rikardwines #iconicsmallbatchwines #orangensw #teamrikard

VINTAGE 2025 @ RIKARD: glorious Shiraz in the morning.
Our Amboseli vineyard never disappoints with its perfect rows of pristine fruit, making it a joy to harvest.

Baskets, baskets and more baskets of Shiraz 🍇 230 approx and sunrise picks are still the best way to start a day!
...
#rikardwines #iconicsmallbatchwines #orangensw #rikardshiraz #vintage2025 #nswwine #orangewineregion #adropabove #orange360

BELLS ON @ RIKARD: our annual exclusive wine club member event is on Saturday 3rd May.
Bell Club members, we’ve sent you an email to invite you with the link to RSVP - so check your junk in case the email bots have marked us as spam.

We’d love to see you there for the afternoon ...exploring the vintage, new and pre-release wines, tunes, snacks, the best view in Orange and of course excellent chat with team RIKARD.

If you’re missing the link or can’t find the email, get in touch with Carine ([email protected]) to confirm your place.

If you’re not a Bell Club member, ask yourself why, then fix that!🍷

#rikardwines #iconicsmallbatchwines #orangensw #rikardwinery

A SMALL BATCH OF THE BEST PEOPLE @ RIKARD: meet our cellar hand Brenda.

Also our resident sommelier, bringing a raft of hospitality experience and our favourite Argentinian, this year is Brenda’s 3rd vintage at Rikard.

What excites you about the 2025 vintage?
I am excited ...about playing with La Cloche fruit. It’s been great to be part of the first vineyard pick from our home vineyard and I’m looking forward to seeing what the land has to offer.

When did you know you wanted to work in wine?
I never logically decided to pursue a career in wine; the industry and the people involved just got me. Wine ticks many boxes I am interested in: Philosophy, Art, and Science… How could I not love it!

What’s your favourite wine or bottle you’re keeping for a special occasion?
The 2023 Black Label Pinot Noir… it was my first vintage, I always wanted to learn about Pinot and it’s very fragrant yet structured.

What do you love about being part of the Rikard team?
The flexibility to learn about wines from planting the vines through to selling the bottle and I have wonderful colleagues making that journey very enjoyable.

#rikardwines #iconicsmallbatchwines #orangensw #teamrikard @brend.ucca

VINTAGE 2025 @ RIKARD: sunrise and Riesling.
Returning to our resurrection vineyard for a beautiful start to the day and hand picking Riesling. 10kg lugs, straight to press in the winery - the fruit looking its finest and our biggest crop to date from this vineyard, sitting pretty at 1070m ...above sea level.

#rikardwines #iconicsmallbatchwines #oramgensw #vintage2025 #rikardriesling #sunriseharvest #orangewineregion #adropabove

A SMALL BATCH OF THE BEST PEOPLE @ RIKARD: meet our assistant winemaker, Tim.

Clocking up three vintages at RIKARD, Tim is loving the colour and fruit intensity of the Pinot Noir that has just been picked from our own vineyards which is shining bright in the winery for vintage 2025.
...Tim’s starter career was in sound engineering, but the winemaking calling was too strong..

When did you know you wanted to working be in wine? When I was scraping an open fermenter down the hallway of our teeny terrace in Enmore, Sydney. Foot Plunging with the creaking floorboards beneath to make 100 litres of MV6 Pinot Noir which my wife and I aptly named Pinotdestructo. Years later we packed ourselves and our toddler into a Thrifty Van and headed to Orange.

What’s your favourite wine moment in time?
Took a leap and trusted our number one search engine for the closest recommended wine shop in Bangkok a few years back. Running the gauntlet in clogs, a singlet and shorts and finding myself at the Oriental Marigold Hotel where I found a Latour - Giraud Mersault, which was a perfect pairing with fresh prawn street wontons.

What do you love about being part of the Rikard team?
Like all great wines we balance each other out.

#rikardwines #iconicsmallbatchwines #orangensw #teamrikard #vintage2025 #orangewineregion #rikardpinotnoir @traeger.tim

A SMALL BATCH OF THE BEST PEOPLE @ RIKARD: this vintage we’re introducing you to our team, just in case we haven’t already met… We like to think of ourselves as a small batch of the best people, with a passion for making small batches of the best wines. So first up are the creators and owners... of RIKARD - Will and Kimberley.

Will - winemaker, ideas man and husband to - Kimberley, general and all the details manager, also a veterinarian.

How many vintages have you been at RIKARD?
11 RIKARD vintages and a total of 26 vintages as a winemaker and wine widow respectively.

For vintage 2025 what are you looking forward to?
We’re excited about producing 100% of RIKARD wines grown from vineyards that we own or manage. This is our first year having this opportunity and the first year our new vineyard planted in 2019 has come to harvest.

How did you get your passion for wine? For Will at age 19, a solo road trip to wine regions around Australia and for Kimmy, marrying a winemaker.

Do you have a favourite wine or moment in wine?
Will - the first ever trophy winning wine I made, was a Chardonnay in the Hunter Valley in 2009. I kept a bottle, wrote a love note on the label for Kimberley and we will open it together one day.
Kimberley - starting a small wine business together with my husband, based on a passion for making exceptional wines in a wine region that we love and making it work for 10 years (so far).
We’re proud to be first generation winemakers, creating an iconic legacy for our kids.

What’s the best thing about the RIKARD team?
I love that on many days, it doesn’t seem like work.
The team are fun and passionate about what they do.
I love that we have a tight knit gang that is great at enthusing each other about making great wine.
Everyone brings something unique and interesting to the table from their previous experiences, be it overseas vintages, sommelier careers, a passion for regenerative viticulture or interesting non-wine backgrounds. We all are open to and love learning new things about the world of wine.
Celebrating 10 years of RIKARD never looked so good.

#rikardwines #iconicsmallbatchwines #orangensw #teamrikard

VINTAGE 2025 @ RIKARD: having a grape time!
Back at our resurrection vineyard 1070m above sea level to pick Pinot Noir on the first day of autumn that felt like summer!

Hand picking perfect bunches from the early morning and out of the heat for hand sorting for the afternoon.

...A small batch of the best people making small batches of the best wines! 🍇🍷❤️

#rikardwines #iconicsmallbatchwines #rikardpinotnoir #orangewineregion #orangensw #nswwine #orange360allyearround #adropabove