ORANGE IS THE NEW ROSE
Once upon a time, there was red, white and rosé ... now there’s orange.
Orange wine is also known as skincontact wine, skin fermented white wine or amber wine.
Although orange wine is generating some buzz among the hipster crowd, it's actually nothing new.
The first examples of orange wine date back 6000 years to Georgia. More recently, though, orange wine was quite common in Italy up until the 1960s but became unfashionable as the clearer, fresher white wines started to dominate the market.
IS IT MADE FROM ORANGES?
Definitely not! The name refers to the orange hue of the wine.
HOW IS IT MADE?
White wine is made by pressing grapes and immediately transferring the juice to ferment. Red wine is made by fermenting the juice with skin and seeds included – this is what adds the colour. Orange wine is essentially white wine but made using the same method as red wine.
WHAT DOES IT TASTE LIKE?
Orange wine has been described as big and dry with similar tannins to a red wine, and sometimes a little sour – like sourdough or iced tea. They also generally display mild flavours of stone fruit. On its own, orange wine can be a little intense to the newbie, however pair it with food and it just sings. Its full-bodied flavour makes it especially versatile with hard, aged cheeses and, in fact, anything strong in flavour.
WHAT TEMPERATURE SHOULD WE DRINK IT AT?
The flavours in orange wine become more subtle when chilled and more expressive as it warms up. It's traditionally meant to be consumed slightly warmer than a classic white, however it's perfectly acceptable to drink it chilled.