They used to say that if you ate too many carrots you would turn orange. I wonder if the same holds true for orange wine. When I am drinking one, and I am in the right frame of mind, I feel orangeness suffusing me and all that that word embodies.
In wine terms, orange is rarely pure as the driven orange, but probably around 50 shades of vin gris. Ranging from pink-tinted, through gold then copper into orange tones and finally rich amber. And there are hues within hues.
Various reasons may account for differences of colour and style such as the grape variety used, length and type of maceration (carbonic or punchdowns), the vessel used and the oxidative component of the maturation.
Pinot Gris, due to the colour the grape skins acquire when fully ripe, is easy to coax colour from. The pinkish-copper-hued wines of Friuli are legendary and skin-contact PG is popular elsewhere, bridging a divide between orange and rosé. Traminer is similar in this regard. Maceration is also preferred with some grape varieties such as Muscat to confer textural complexity and to dial down the more obvious aromatics. White varieties from warmer regions seem to have an affinity for skin-contact; the resultant phenolics bring a bitter characteristic that often compensates for the relative lack of acidity.
Longer macerations do not necessarily equate to more colour in the final wine. The colour of the skins matters most, extractive techniques and the reaction to oxygen also collectively confers deeper colours to the wine in question. Wines made in qvevri and big barrels where the process of micro-oxygenation is most apparent, tend to pick up plenty of colour. However, the same wine can be different in two vintages, if, for example, one year is a cold one and another a hot one.
The proportion of skins used to juice also governs the nature of the final wine. We think of 100% skins, but it can be as low as 10% and the reason for doing this is to add some phenolics to the wine without marking it as a full orange wine. In Georgia, for example, there is a broad east-west divide in the way that the skins and stems are used. In Kakheti, for example, it is traditional to use 100% skins (and stems) and to punch down. The resultant wines are deep bronze in colour and have a powerful tannic structure. In Imereti, for example, the wines veer towards the lighter end. 0-20% of skins are used. Because the wines are matured in qvevri and are unfiltered, the resultant wines can still have plenty of colour in their own right.
Skin-contact is increasingly used as a form of blending option. Part of the wine can be fermented and made separately and integrated into the final wine, alternatively as per above a certain proportion of grape skins can be added to the must. Doing this changes not only the pH and the colour, but also the very nature of the wine. It is often said that orange wines are white wines made using red winemaking techniques, but in reality these distinctions are becoming blurred. Wine does not have to be a matter of clean-skins versus colour – the colour of the grape material, the degree of extraction determines the flavour and texture profile.
It is also probable that orange wines are traditional in the sense that all the techniques and equipment used to make clear clean-skin wines are comparatively recent. The anti-oxidant properties of skins were probably also useful if the wine was not kept in a stable cool environment.
The earliest amber/orange wines Les Caves listed were a Sauvignon from Dario Princic and the famous La Stoppa Ageno (predominantly from the Malvasia di Candia Aromatico). Orange wines became more recognised internationally due to the efforts of Gravner and Radikon. Their influence spread amongst growers in central Europe, at first. Meanwhile Georgia was gradually being opened to wine tourism and many growers from around the world visited the so-called cradle of wine civilisation and returned home enthused by new-old winemaking techniques.
Terroirs Wine Bar was probably the first in the UK to have a whole section dedicated to skin-contact wines. This grew from one page to several over the years reflecting the range and diversity of this category of wines – the fourth colour as some critics characterised it. The Les Caves’s wine portfolio now lists over one hundred examples, too many to be grouped under the simple reductive banner of “orange wines.” We have decided to list them in degrees ranging from light skin influence through moderate to full amber with rich in colour and polyphenolic impact.
Amber/orange wines with their textural subtlety and complexity seem to tap into other areas. The best of these wines, when we feel them in our mouth, give us the impression that we are touching them with many other parts of our body at the same time. With these wines, however, you must start with their evocative colour, which resonates on so many levels. Orange, for example, combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. It is associated with joy, sunshine and heat. It also represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation.
Wine-tasting notes are based on clear distinctions and precise evaluative terminology – of oppositions between white versus red, the clean skin versus maceration, and describing the relative body of the wine in question. You can call a wine unfiltered or cloudy, but that doesn’t come close to describing the quality of its colour. When we have a wine that has a colour that seems to shift according to the light, that possesses a special energy of its own, aromatics that are more than primary, and a texture that is multi-rhythmic and multi-layered, then this is a wine that by its very nature has the wherewithal to bathe our senses in ambient pleasure and evoke ASMR.
If amber wines were music, they would be as live performances, fuzzy, rough-edged and unpredictable. Their tactility means that you can touch them at the same time as they touch you. And like the best live music, they may give one a peculiar frisson.
Les Caves Skin-Contact/Orange Selection
Brief Maceration/Only Use % Of Skins/Light Extraction
This single star rating applies to wines that show the effects of partial (or total) skin-contact albeit with a lighter emphasis. More growers understand that maceration is a textural blending option, adding complexity to the final wine.
Les Bardets Blanc, Labastide-de-Levis x TP – Gaillac*
Suane Rioja Reserva Blanco, Alonso y Pedrajo– Spain*
Muscat Blanc d’Argila, Pedro Olivares – Levant, Spain*
Arcal Blanco, Pedro Olivares – Levant, Spain*
Green Verde Bianco (Malvasia/Vitovska), Benjamin Zidarich – Friuli*
Pico Bianco, Il Biancara, Veneto*
Procanico, Antonio Camillo, Toscana*
Catavela, AA Denavolo – Emilia*
Casa Mia Bianco, Podere Sassi – Lazio*
Fratelli Felix Bianco, Vigneti Tardis x TP, Campania*
Fattoria Vaira Vincenzo Bianco – Molise*
Rami Bianco, COS – Sicilia*
Sancho Panza, Il Tufiello – Campania*
AA Caravaglio Occhio de Terra Malvasia – Sicilia*
Okro Rkatsiteli Zvari – Georgia*
Zurab Topuridze Mtsvivani – Georgia*
Zurab Topuridze Khikhvi – Georgia*
Archil Guniava Tsitska – Georgia*
Archil Guniava Tsolikouri – Georgia*
Archil Guniava TTKD (blend) – Georgia*
Mersel Phoenix Skin Contact – Lebanon*
Marto Weiss, Germany*
Riesling M, Weingut DB Schmitt – Germany*
Zold, Weingut DB Schmitt – Germany*
Burja Bela, Slovenia*
Burja Zelen, Slovenia*
Nando Malvazija Blue Label – Slovenia*
Nando Jakot Blue Label – Slovenia*
Judith Beck Neuburger Bambule! Burgenland – Austria*
Baby Bandito Stay Brave Chenin, Swartland, South Africa*
Testalonga El Bandito Skin Contact Chenin, Swartland – South Africa*
Ruth Lewandowski Tatto Blend, Mendocino – California*
Luddite Chenin, Bot River – South Africa*
Mid-Orange/Light Amber/Medium Maceration
The two star designation is for wines made with the intention of showing how maceration may transform the aromas and flavours of grapes. This wines have a richer texture, light-to-moderate tannins.
A Fleur de Peau, Clos du Gravillas, Languedoc**
Orange à la Mer, Mas Foulaquier – Languedoc**
Salamandre Orange, St Cyrgues x TP – Rhône**
Pepin Orange, Achillée – Alsace**
Riesling Grand cru Vorbourg Maceration, Domaine Pierre Frick – Alsace**
Big Bang Theory Go Together, Patrice Beguet – Jura**
Three Views of A Secret, Patrice Beguet – Jura/Alsace**
Orange Was the Colour of Her New Dress, Patrice Beguet – Arbois, France**
Salicornio Moscatel, Finca Casa Balaguer, Alicante**
Salicornio Malvasia, Finca Casa Balaguer, Alicante**
Lovamor Albillo, Alfredo Maestro Tejero – Spain**(*)
BN Partida Creus, Penedes – Spain**
Aphros Phaunus Loureiro – Vinho Verde, Portugal**(*)
Carso Vitovska, Benjamin Zidarich, Friuli**
Vitovska Kamen, Benjamin Zidarich, Friuli**
Mansano, AA Denavolo – Emilia**
Dinavolino, AA Denavolo, Emilia*(*)
Piccoli Passi Bianco, Podere Sassi – Lazio**
Il Parieti Scazzaridde, Puglia**
Il Forestieri Rigomale – Toscana**
Calcarius Nu Litr Orange – Puglia**
Maremosso Bianco, Andrea Vesco x TP – Sicilia**
Zibibbo Integer, Marco de Bartoli – Sicilia**
Vino di Anna Bianco G, Etna – Sicilia**
SP 68 Bianco, Arianna Occhipinti – Sicilia**
Pithos Bianco, COS – Sicilia**
Zibibbo in Pithos, COS – Sicilia**
Zurab Topuridze Golden Blend – Georgia**
Zurab Topuridze Cecilia– Georgia**
Archil Guniava Dondghlabi, Imereti – Georgia**
Ramaz Nikoladze Solikouri, Imereti – Georgia**
Kamara Family Ritinitis Retsina – Greece**
Georgas Retsina of Mesogaia – Greece**
Mersel Daw al Amar – Lebanon**
Wild Pony, Weingut DB Schmitt – Germany**(*)
Schlehe, MA Arndorder, Kamptal – Austria**
Judith Beck Traminer, Burgenland – Austria**
Ancre Hill Orange Wine, Monmouth – Wales**
Mauricio Gonzalez Moscatel Tinaja, Bio Bio – Chile**
Duraznero Blanco, Cara Sur, Calingasta – Argentina**
Elementis Skin Contact Chenin, Intellego, Swartland – South Africa**
Intellego Sleeping Co-Pilot Viognier, Swartland – South Africa**
Deep Orange/Full Amber
Three stars denote the most intense expressions of orange wine, through extended maceration of richly-coloured grape skins. There is so much material here, these taste like wines with an extra dimension. In the mouth, they feel rich, warm and savoury, there is often noticeable spice and tannin.
Saumur Blanc “Amphore”, Terres, Domaine des Roches-Neuves – Loire***
Pequeñita Rioja Malvasia Macerado, Alonso y Pedrajo – Spain***
Pequeñita Rioja Maturana Macerado, Alonso y Pedrajo – Spain***
Baccabianca, Tenuta Il Grillo – Piemonte***
Vino Bianco Pinot Grigio, Dario Princic, Friuli*** (coppy-reddish tint)
Vino Bianco Ribolla, Dario Princic, Friuli***
Vino Bianco Jakot, Dario Princic, Friuli***
Massia Vecchia Ariento, Massa Maratima – Toscana***
Ageno, La Stoppa – Emilia***
AA Rabasco Damigiano Bianco – Abruzzo***
Il Parieti Caparo, Puglia***
SM Santa Margherita Bianco, Arianna Occhipinti – Sicilia***
Pheasant’s Tears Kisi, Kakheti– Georgia***
Pheasant’s Tears Khikhvi, Kakheti – Georgia***
Sister’s Wine Kisi, Kakheti – Georgia***
Mamuka Chelidze Tetra, Racha – Georgia***
Iago Chinuri Skin Contact, Kartli – Georgia***
Mariam Mtsvane Amber, Georgia***
Kamara Keramos Amphora – Greece***
Stagbeetle, Weingut Andreas Tscheppe, Styria – Austria***
Schwalbenschwanz, Weingut Andreas Tscheppe, Styria – Austria***
Gruner Veltliner Anadjucka, Weingut Andert, Burgenland – Austria***
PM, Andert, Burgenland – Austria***
Malvazjia Ma-Jantar, Nando – Slovenia***
Rebula, Valter Mlecnik – Slovenia***
Chardonnay, Valter Mlecnik – Slovenia***
Zorjan Cuvee, Stajerska – Slovenia***
Zorjan Laski Rizling, Stajerska – Slovenia***
Staring at the Sun, Momento Mori – Australia***
Fistful of Flowers, Momento Mori – Australia***
Bianco, Momento Mori- Australia***
Pol Opuesto El Otro Lado Torrontés – Argentina***
Ruth Lewandowski Chilion, Mendocino – California***
Where Skin-Contact Turns Pink
Pinot Gris Maceration V, Domaine Pierre Frick – Alsace** Pink colour
Si Rose, Christian Binner – Alsace** (rose-hued)
Pinot Gris Amphora, A & D Beckham, Chehalem – Oregon*** (red/rose)
Kelley Fox Nerthus – Oregon* (really a rosé)