Move Over Rosé - Orange Wine Is The Wine All The Cool Kids Are Drinking
ORANGE WINE IS TRENDING
Orange Wine is having a moment — more than a moment, in fact. Freaking Sophia Coppola’s niece, Gia Coppola is making her very own, too cool, dope af Orange Wine that is about to dominate the wine world.
In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if in a few years Orange Wine got its own category and became almost as popular as it’s pink sister, Rosé. If you’ve never heard of Orange Wine and are like — HOLD UP, WTF IS ORANGE WINE?
Lemme explain.
Orange wine is many things, but it’s not wine made from Oranges, that’s for sure. Orange Wine is an extended skin contact wine - like Rosé - made from White Grape Varietals.
For years Orange Wine used to be a secret, with only select groups of wine hipsters with a bunch of tattoos and very interesting facial hair in the know.
Definitely Drinks Orange Wine ^
But now, Orange Wine is becoming a more mainstream trend.
Though it doesn’t have as much saturation as our dear pink friend, Rosé does, it’s definitely picking up steam.
If you’re one of those people who loves Rosé, Orange Wine is a trend you do not want to miss out on.
@monstercritic
Like a field of brightly colored poppies after a rainstorm, Orange Wines are popping up everywhere.
It seems like everybody and their mother in the Wine Trade is trying to come up with their own version of an Orange Wine.
And many a bottle of this Orange to Amber hued beverage comes in different and unique styles.
It can also age! Some of the top Orange Wines from some of the super high end producers like Radikon, can age for years because of their heavy tannins.
ORANGE WINE IS NATURAL WINE
If you’re very much into the Natural Wine movement, I’ve got some good news for you about Orange Wines.
They are Natural Wines.
These wines generally have native yeasts and there is zero inoculation during the Orange Winemaking process.
There are always exceptions to the rule, and as these Orange Wines get more popular, this may change. But I have yet to find a non-natural Orange Wine in my travels.
THE HISTORY OF ORANGE WINE
I started reading this book, Amber Revolution by Simon J Woolf, where he pieced together the history of Orange Wine.
Orange Wine is actually one of the older styles of winemaking. It highly likely hails from Georgia - the country. Georgia is one of the oldest winemaking regions in the entire world. Many say it’s where the birthplace of wine is. A lot of the history of Georgian winemaking has been lost, largely due to Georgia’s conflict with Russia and years of political oppression.
Another country that has a long history of making Orange Wine is Slovenia, but in similar fashion also had an obscure history simply because of oppression during Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime.
Orange wines were originally made in qvevri or amphorae (clay pots) buried into the ground. The qvevris were the perfect shape to facilitate lees contact because they were rounded, and a natural sort of convection would occur. If you’re not sure about lees or amphorae, be sure to check out my older post Storytime! Let’s Talk About How Wine Is Made
Anyway, the majority of these early wines were made in qvevri, and now countries like England are starting to adopt similar practices. Because qvevri are naturally immersed in the ground, they offer the perfect temperatures for winemaking. The clay is pretty porous - a lot like oak barrels - and allows just a little bit of oxygen into the fermentation process.
Qvevri before they go in the ground.
Winemakers in Slovenia and Georgia were making Orange Wines for centuries, but due to political turmoil and economic instability it was challenging. After the fall of the USSR and Mussolini’s regime, winemakers who favored crafting Orange Wines faced a different issue — there was a lot of pressure to confirm stylistically to the more, “traditional,” or, “westernized,” style of winemaking. That meant - Bordeaux, California, or even fuller bodied red Italian Wines.
People who have enjoyed Orange Wines understand they are usually highly tannic, and can sometimes taste like sour beer. For individuals with palates accustomed to a certain style of wine, this can be jarring. There was a lot of pressure for some of the original Orange Wine producers, such as Gravner or Radikon, to give up crafting orange wines entirely.
But these guys trusted their instincts and stuck to their guns. Eventually, people started falling in love with wine, and as the Natural Wine Movement became a bigger and bigger deal, acceptance of Orange Wines grew.
What countries make Orange Wine?
Orange wines hail from a variety of different regions and countries. You can find examples of them pretty much everywhere. Some noteworthy regions are Slovenia, the Friuli-Venezia region in Northern Italy, Georgia (the country not the state), Spain, Jura, and the United States!
What kind of grapes are used in Orange Wine?
Orange wines can be made with all kinds of white grapes including, Pinot Grigio, Friulano, Ribolla Gialla, but it can even be made with grapes like Gewürztraminer and Chardonnay.
What does Orange Wine taste like?
It is important to think of Orange Wine as a category — like Rosé. You have a BUNCH of different type of Rosés, right? You have darker colored Rosatos from Spain and you have that light Provençal stuff, right? The same goes for Orange Wines. They can be made a variety of different ways - oak, steel, qvevri, amphorae, concrete, you get the picture.
There are heavily tannic and sour Orange Wines, there are very aromatic Orange Wines, and there are really light, round, and fruity Orange Wines as well.
Because there are so many different variations of Orange Wine, I think the real question here is—
What style of Orange Wine do you like?
Do you remember my earlier post — Chardonnay: And No, It’s Not Just For Moms? If you haven’t read it, I recommend checking it out because I think with Orange Wine the thought process is similar.
There are many different types of Orange Wine that are all made in many different ways.
Sometimes Orange Wine is made simply from extended Skin Contact with the white grapes.
Several wine professionals will tell you that there is a universal oxidative process that happens, adding a nutty characteristic and an, “ambering,” to these wines.
But that’s kind of a slippery slope, as a lot of Orange Wines are made in a variety of different ways.
And not all of them are deliberately exposed to a terrible amount of oxygen.
We’re figuring it out together.
Orange Wine is still the new frontier of wine — much like Rosé was a few years ago.
So now, without further ado, let’s talk about the different styles of Orange Wine!
@simonray
THE DIFFERENT STYLES OF ORANGE WINE
Strictly Skin Contact.
I’ve heard of wines being categorized as Orange from the Collio DOC - that’s a region in Northern Italy that borders on Slovenia - that were not deliberately oxidized.
For example, a delightful wine I used to sell that was categorized as an Orange Wine on many Glass Lists at restaurants, Venica & Venica Jesera Pinot Grigio was very much protected from oxygen exposure during the fermentation process.
The reason it got a gorgeous copper color was due to skin contact with the copper toned grape, Pinot Grigio.
This yields a naturally fresher, less nutty, pure style of wine that favors fruit.
OXIDATIVE ORANGE WINE OR AGED WHITE WINE
Conversely, I’ve had wines - and sold wines - that were back vintage white wines passed off as Orange Wines. Because they were older, the white wines started to turn bright orange as they were exposed to oxygen. If you’re thinking, “What the heck is a back vintage?” I’ll answer that question for you. A back vintage is simply an older vintage of wine. Some back vintage wines can hang and age beautifully. Others, maybe not so much.
I represented wines from the Valle de Guadalupe in Mexico - yes Mexico makes wine, and quite good wine too - several years back. And I was selling an older vintage of Mexican Stainless Steel Columbard (a funky, sweet little white varietal that has a honeyed characteristic) to a client who wanted to put it on the list as an affordable Orange Wine.
It tasted way better with some extra age on it - some whites can age - and some funky aromas of blue cheese and honey were starting to show through. Still, I don’t really condone the practice of selling older bottles of white wine and passing them off as Orange Wine.
OTHER METHODS OF MAKING ORANGE WINE
I’ve seen Orange Wines where importers told me they were done in the, “Passito Method,” a method commonly used in Amarone, wines from the Valpolecella DOC featuring the grape Corvina.
These grapes were left in the sun to allow their skins to raisinate - or dry out - and wine was made from them.
Orange wines that are created using the Passito Method use white grapes instead of Corvina, which is a red grape. And yes, some processes do involve exposing the wine to Oxygen.
Yes, there are absolutely some Orange Wines out there that get their orangey characteristics by sitting on their skins and being deliberately exposed to Oxygen. These wines can be very funky with their oxidative characteristics. I highly suggest preparing yourself before trying them. Expect the unexpected.
Beginning your Orange Wine Journey…
Start slow.
If you are new to Orange Wine, I recommend trying a producer that is more along the lines of Orange in color with less oxidization. I have one featured in the Pick of the Week section.
These Orange Wines are really pure and you get a lot of fruit from them - like Apricots. They also don’t have the enormous tannins that some oxidized Orange Wines possess.
If you dig these wines, then you can go into the funkier, deep cuts of Orange Wine.
Oxidized Orange Wines very much resemble Ciders or Sour Beer. If you’re a fan of those types of beers, get started on these Orange Wines right away!
And now, let’s talk about our entry-level Orange Wine —
Pick of the Week:
KABAJ SIVI PINOT GRIGIO 2016 $26.00@ Stanleys Wet Goods
@kabajwines
Are you intrigued? Well you damn well should be.
This little magical wine took my Orange Wine virginity. And honestly? I’m not complaining. We’re very happy together, thank you very much.
I remember it years ago, I honestly don’t even remember the restaurant… All I remember is seeing, “Orange Wine,” and the word, “Kabaj,” on the Wine List and my ears perked up.
I ordered it. Took a sip. And yeah my mind was blown.
The nose on this was just stunning. My senses were a-tangle as a little hurricane of ripe apricots, white flowers, honeydew melon and kefir lime, engulfed me. And that color! The most beautiful, richly hued orange that brought my favorite weekend beverage, the Aperol Spritz to mind. This may have been my wine soulmate.
The Kabaj Sivi Pinot was so easy to drink. It was soft and the minerality was just on point. It had a gorgeous saline quality to it that it would cause those who like dry, lean, bright white wines from Alsace or even Provençal Rosé fans to absolutely lose their s**t.
Drinking it was like falling in love. The waiter brought a bottle over when I asked him what concoction of Angel’s tears was I drinking. He dropped it off at my table and said, “I’ll let you two be alone for a while.”
I looked at the wine’s label, “When can I see you again?” I asked, as I scrambled to take a photo of it with my iPhone 4, praying that I wouldn’t drop it again on the way out of the restaurant.
Thankfully, since my first encounter with Kabaj, I have managed to find a place that carries this wine and have been fortunate enough to have experienced it - and turned people on to this producer - many more times.
If you’re new to Orange Wine, this is a great one to try. And the consistency of Kabaj is simply remarkable. I have had many vintages of the Sivi Pinot, and have been impressed by all of them. It’s honestly my go-to whenever I want an Orange Wine. Probably because it’s so freaking versatile and pairs with so many things.
It’s not heavily funky or oxidized - like some other Orange Wines - and the purity of the Kabaj Sivi Pinot is absolutely stunning. Precision isn’t a word that would come to my mind with Orange Wines, yet this wine has loads of it. Probably because Jean Michel and Kaja Kabaj are simply brilliant.
The fruit — 100% Pinot Gris — is all grown on their 12 hectares of vineyards in Slovenia. If you want to be really specific, the Goriška Brda region. There is very unique, crumbly Opoka soil there that cultivates grapes such as Pinot Grigio and Ribolla Gialla beautifully. French winemaker, Jean Michel cultivated his winemaking technique at the vineyards in Bordeaux and brought them back to Slovenia after marrying Katja Kabaj. Simply put, it was a match made in heaven.
The Kabaj Sivi Pinot is so easy and it will surely turn you on to Orange Wine. It’s honestly a damn shame that this wine isn’t in every wine shop.
Try having it with some rotisserie chicken, Greek Gyros, Soba Noodles, Carnitas Tacos, and… Fried Chicken or Pork. Honestly? I’ve had this wine with Latkes around Chanukah and it was unbelievable. If you ever see the Kabaj Sivi Pinot at a local wineshop or on a glass list — TRY IT. You’ll be glad you did.