Orange you glad I didn’t say Rosé?
The first time I heard about orange wine, I was traveling abroad on a foodie trip in Croatia.
It wasn’t an official tour-led foodie trip, just my partner and I. I suppose you could call all our trips “foodie” trips as it’s how we like to travel, experience a new place through it’s cuisine and local beverages.
We had hired a local guide to take us around the wineries of the area, and teach us all things Croatian.
This is when we first learned of orange wine. And when we fell in love with Croatian wine. And when our love was immediately dashed as we learned they very, very rarely export their wine.
What is Orange Wine?
I was supremely trepidatious when our guide explained that orange wine is similar to rosé; at the time I was really not a fan of rose and barely a fan of white wine. When I scrunched my nose and told him this, he laughed and said “Perfect! Because it’s similar in the way that is exactly opposite!”
… What.
Turns out that orange wine is often mistaken for rosé as the colors can be quite close, even though the former tends more amber while the latter strays into the pink category.
The two wine styles are similar as they both use the process of maceration to generate the color and phenolic textures found in the wines. Maceration is the technique of leaving the grape juice in constant contact with the seeds, stalks, and skins of the grapes. Typically, this process is how red wines get their color and flavor.
But there’s one major, stark difference: the grapes used.
Rosé is made by using red grapes, and having a very short maceration period, usually between 2-24 hours. This results in a light pink hue, and flavors that mirror a very light red wine (which makes sense) but usually with a bit brighter and crisper tasting notes.
Orange wine is made from white grape varietals. The grapes go through the same crushing and maceration process, but for a much longer time period. The maceration for typical orange wines can be anywhere between four days to over a year long.
What do orange wines taste like?
Because the juice is in contact with the seeds and skins for so long, orange wines’ flavor profile is heavily influenced by phenolic compounds, and are very different tasting than their white wine counterparts (the wine wines made with the same grape varietals, but without the maceration time).
This means many of them are heavily tannic, and have a very dry mouthfeel. They are big, bold wines; do not underestimate orange wines! Due to the oxidation that can occur during maceration as well as the fact that winemakers very rarely using any additives in the orange winemaking process, these wines have been described as having a little bit of a sour taste, similar to that of a fruited beer, as well as nuttiness and honeyed flavor like jackfruit.
Descriptors like: bruised apple, sourdough, linseed oil, and wood varnish showed up a lot when researching different orange wines.
Because they can be hefty and bold in flavor, these wines can pair perfectly with food of the same category. If you’ve been wondering what to pair with bold curry dishes or tangy fermented food (like kimchi), consider an orange wine! The food won’t overpower the tannic tartness of the these.
So where are these wines from?
And why haven’t I heard of them before?
This production process - using white wines and macerating for an extended time - is actually a winemaking technique that can be traced back 5,000 years ago the area that today makes up the Republic of Georgia. (NOT the state, the country.)
Back then the wine was fermented in large subterranean vessels called Qvevri (“Kev-ree”) some of which have been found by anthropologists studying the region.
You haven’t heard of it because while the production process may be ancient, it fell out of popularity for a long time as the public preferred light and crisp “true whites” and just in the last 20 years has started to make a comeback. It’s currently most commonly found in northeastern Italy, on the boarder with Slovenia. Italian winemaker Josko Gravner was the first to attempt it again in 1997.
And now it's slowly, ever so slowly picking up in popularity in the U.S. My guess is that your local wine bar or taproom will not have an open bottle of one (maybe show off and ask though?) But I bet you will be able to find at least one at your local wine shop. I was able to find just find two different bottles at Total Wine, and just one at our local wine store. Unfortunately, none of them were our beloved Croatian wine we had; we're still on the lookout for that.
Weekly Adventure
Your task this week is to try an orange wine! Be warned though, this task may take time and investigation. While orange wines are on the up-and-up in popularity, they are still not always easy to find.
But it is always worth while trying something completely new.
Cheers,
Molly
Resources
https://winefolly.com/deep-dive/orange-wine/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kvevri
https://www.foodandwine.com/wine/best-orange-wines-to-drink-now