What does Orange wine mean?
Orange wine is white wine fermented with its grape skins, the way red wine is made, which gives an amber colour, tannin and more texture.
Also known as: Skin-contact white, Amber wine
Orange wine is a white wine fermented together with its grape skins, just as a red wine is made. The skin contact can last a few days, several weeks or sometimes months. The name comes from the colour, and the wine has nothing to do with oranges. It is also called skin-contact white or amber wine.
The method is very old. In Georgia, white grapes have long been fermented on their skins in buried clay vessels called qvevri, and the wines are known there as amber wines. Since the late 1990s the style has seen a revival, first in north-eastern Italy and western Slovenia and then across much of the wine world.
The skins bring colour, tannin and aroma. The colour ranges from golden to deep amber, and the taste is often dry with clear structure, firm texture and notes that can recall dried fruit, tea, herbs or orange peel. How bold the wine becomes depends on the grape and how long the skins were in contact.
Orange wine is often made with minimal intervention and spontaneous fermentation and is frequently bottled unfiltered, but there is no legal definition. Thanks to its tannin and structure the style works well with hearty food, and it is often served slightly warmer than a typical white, at around 10 to 14 °C.