While the term “orange wine” is still controversial, orange wine is growing in popularity and many people who like to try different styles of wine are looking forward to trying it. However, there are still many questions about orange wine that remain unanswered. What is orange wine made from? Is orange wine a natural wine? Let’s take a look.
What exactly is orange wine?Orange wine is actually a white wine. Like rosé, orange wine is made by controlling the amount of time the wine spends in contact with the skins during fermentation, giving the wine an orange color. In contrast to rosé, which requires a shorter maceration time, orange wines require a longer maceration time, which can range from a few days to several months. The maceration not only extracts the color and flavors and enriches the wine, but also acquires tannins, adds structure, and makes the wine more stable.
The color of orange wines ranges from light gold to deep amber, and some orange wines even have a red hue. For this reason, some orange wines use the term “amber” directly in their naming. The taste of orange wines is very similar to that of red wines, with higher tannins, longer aftertaste, more structure and richness, thanks to the longer maceration time and increased oxidation time. Is orange wine a novelty wine?In fact, orange wine is not a novel winemaking invention. Both Georgia and Slovenia have a tradition of making wine with long maceration of the skins. The history of orange wine production goes back 5,000 years, when Georgian winemakers fermented grapes in sealed vats to produce an orange-colored wine. So, orange wine has a longer history than clarified white wine.
Fruili in northeastern Italy is one of the leading producers of orange wine, and local winemaker Stanko & middot; Redican is dedicated to promoting orange wine. He believes that the grape skins carry a lot of information about the grapes. Generally speaking, in white wines, after the grapes are broken and pressed, the skins are removed from the entire winemaking process, while red wines have a skin maceration process. The skins of red grapes reflect information about the growth of the grapes, including information about tannin content and structural taste. Orange wines made with extended maceration of the skins are made so that the terroir in which the grapes were grown is expressed in the wine.
Traditionally, orange wines have been produced in the Friuli region of northeastern Italy, but also mainly along the Slovenian border and in Georgia. Although the world’s production of orange wine is currently small, the regions that produce orange wine are spread across the globe. The Savoie, Languedoc-Roussillon and Jura regions of the Loire Valley in France all produce orange wines. And this historic wine is not only made in the Old World, but also in the New World, such as California and South Africa. What foods go well with orange wine?Orange wine is still a very niche and new wine, with very little production worldwide and most orange wines are relatively expensive. However, the fact that they are rare is very important, and because they are so rich and complex, they are a great value for money, and therefore highly sought after. In addition, orange wines offer a wide range of food pairing options. Orange wines are high in tannins and structured, with the high acidity of white wines and the richness of red wines with nutty and honey flavors that can be paired with a wide range of cuisines, even spicy foods that are very difficult to match.
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