Hoosegg, run by Philip Shaw, was ranked the 15^th best in the nation, with Patina Wines 81^st and Ross Hill Wines at 88^th.

The top 10 Orange wineries were inside the top 356 in the country.

The Real Review Top Wineries of Australia 2020 survey singled out Hoosegg as a big improver.

"There will be several surprises in the list, wineries such as Hoosegg are stars in rapid ascendancy," Mr Hooke said.

It is an annual ranking based on tasting the best wines from the various wineries over the past two years.

Patina Wines owner Gerald Naef said he was delighted to be scored at number 81.

"I was pretty impressed. Considering there's [about] 4000 cellar doors in Australia, 81 is pretty good," he said.

Mr Naef said it was a major rise in the list compared to previous years for the Lucknow winery.

And a lot of the rise has been achieved by the success of a $30 bottle of red.

"My 2009 Merlot, it scored 96 points. It's a current release," he said.

"Most of my wines aren't young. They have been allowed to mature."

Mr Naef said two other wines scored well, Jezza (a cabernet merlot) scored 95, and a reserve chardonnay scored 93 points.

"This site is still a very good site where I grow the grapes. I make wine because I like to make wine," he said.

Mr Naef said he re-opened his cellar door on the weekend but had to make changes due to coronavirus restrictions.

The cellar door is normally in his house.

"It isn't a good model for a pandemic," he said.

Instead the cellar door was moved outside.

A West Australian Margaret River region winery, Cullen Wines, topped this year's list followed by Hunter Valley wineries Tyrell's Wines and Mount Pleasant.

Orange's top 10 wineries on the list with rank