Orange Wine, What's The Deal?
You've heard about them, but you don't really know what they are or if you'd like them.
Photo by Kate Marie
The term orange wine can bring out some bold opinions in the wine community. I have to admit, it used to make me cringe when I heard someone talk about orange wine. I just assumed it was this crazy new hipster trend of wines that were going to be so underwhelming that I dismissed them entirely. This is mainly because I am not trendy nor am I a hipster.
Obviously, as someone in the wine industry full time now, I can’t have that ridiculous mindset and so I decided to start adding orange wines into my regular tasting rounds this year. I learned a lot from this, while not many made the cut as wines I would continue buying year after year, there have been some really great wines brought to my attention that have made me happy I chose to not be so dismissive anymore.
Graphic by Kate Marie
What is orange wine?
Orange wine is when white wine is made in the same way as red wine. That simply means that the grapes are crushed and then macerated with their skins and sometimes stems, anywhere from a few hours up to a year. Also known as skin-contact or amber wine.
The skins and stems help add tannins to wine, they also add more complex flavor profiles to the grape, giving the wine totally different aromas and flavors.
Never heard of the word tannin before? That is okay, think of when you drink a black tea, what happens in your mouth. That dry feeling is the tannins, same goes for red wines and some orange wines. My graphic below is a simple way to remember what they are.
Graphic by Kate Marie
Orange wines come from Georgia, the country, not the southern state.
Orange wines can be dated back 8,000 years to Georgia, where they were called amber wine. In ancient Georgian amber wines, whole crushed berries were fermented in qvevri (clay vessels) which were then sealed and buried underground to remain cool. The wines were all amber in color. In fact, for most of Georgia’s wine making history, white wines have been made in this fashion.
So then why are we saying orange wine not amber?
Orange wine is just the new term for amber wine, it wasn’t even coined until 2004 when David A. Harvey of the UK importer Raeburn Fine Wines used the term when talking about skin-contact wines in Italy when he felt the term skin-contact was not useful enough in describing the wine. Since then, people started to refer to skin-contact/amber white wines as orange wine and the orange wine movement has been in full force ever since.
This is not a one size fits all category, you need to explore the styles you like before you can toss these wines to the side. These wines can range from pale pink or light golden to deep dark amber almost brown colored wines. The colors are beautiful, typically, the lighter the color, the less time on skins, the darker, the longer. The darker hued wines also will have more prevalent tannins.
Photo by Kate Marie
Let’s talk wine.
I tried four very different orange wines for you this week. I chose each wine carefully. I made sure each macerated with skins for a different amount of time and each came from a different country. I wanted to make sure you got to see an array of orange wines so that you can leave knowing you probably will find an orange wine you really enjoy. I want to add a quick note, none of these wines had any funk, or wine fault, so unless you get a corked bottle, no funk will be found.
NAKEN:
90% Pinot Gris 10% Muskateller
Organic from Burgenland, Austria
Grapes were macerated with skins for several days
Cloudy pinkish gold
Effervescent, dry
I recommend this to anyone that enjoys a refreshing sparkling wine. I also think a beer lover would enjoy this wine a lot, especially someone who likes a hefeweizen.
Pair this with fried chicken, Bavarian pretzel and beer cheese, a cheese board, honestly, this is an easy wine to pair with food.
TONNINO:
100% Pinot Grigio
Organic from Sicily, Italy
Grapes were macerated with skins for 8-10 hrs
Light golden color (ramato-copper in Italian)
Still, dry
I recommend all my wine snob friends who are not fans of orange wines to try this. If you had blind tested me on this, I would not have guessed it was Pinot Grigio, but I also would not assume it was an orange wine. Delicious and unique Pinot Grigio, definitely will drink again.
Pair this with a sushi or with a shrimp and vegetable pasta in a white wine and lemon sauce.
SKINS:
43% Chenin Blanc, 18% Pinot Gris, 16% Riesling, 13% Albarino 5% Vermentino 4% Albillo Mayor 2% Verdelho
Sustainable from Central Coast, California
Grapes were macerated with skins for 60-80 days
Hazy golden orange color
Still, dry
I recommend this for someone looking for the flavors that are “typical” for orange wine. Think baking spices and marmalade.
Pair this with an apple pie or crumble, want to indulge more than that, add some sharp cheddar cheese.
NINE OAKS:
100% Khikhvi
Natural from Eniseli, Georgia
Grapes were macerated with skins for one month
Hazy vibrant orange
Still, dry
I highly recommend this for my wine friends who enjoy bolder red wines. It is an extremely unique experience, or at least it was for me. All I can say is this wine has some real potential for aging, unlike the others I tried. The tannins were grippy, the acid was high and the aromas and flavors were powerful.
I immediately thought to pair this with a lamb burger and goats cheese.
I painted with each wine above, in the order I wrote about them.
I think each of these wines is so very unique that even the most discerning palate will find one of them appealing. I will continue to keep trying orange wines. I hope that you understand a little more about them now and please tell me if you try any of these.
