By Simon Taylor, Stroud Wine Company
A beginners guide to orange wines
Whether you are a novice or a fully paid up member of the Orange Wine fan club, there is lots to recommend when it comes to this beguiling wine.
But what exactly is an ‘Orange wine’? Firstly, it’s important to know that no actual oranges are harmed in the making of this amber wine.
Orange wine is also known as ‘skin contact’ wine; white grapes are pressed and the grape skins are left in contact with the juice to extract flavour, colour and tannins. The golden hue of the wine comes from the amount of time the skin is left to sit with the juice. Some wines are matured only for a few hours in stainless steel, others for many years in clay amphora buried underground or giant concrete vats.
Demand for these wines has exploded over the last few year, fueled by the popularity of ‘natural’ winemaking; a ‘catch-all’ term for producing wines using only natural yeasts found on the skins of the often organic and Biodynamic grapes or from wild yeasts in the air. These ‘natural’ wines are often unfiltered with no added sulphites. Wines have been made this way since winemaking began and indeed the current trend for Orange wine is really a 6,000 year old-plus overnight sensation.
So where to start with Orange Wines?
Orange wines are generally not considered as ‘easy drinking’ wines but some are certainly more approachable than others.
Tannins (the drying sensation you get in your mouth from full bodied reds) are often high in orange wines but when paired with food those tannins are softened and can be utterly delicious. Lamb is the perfect meat pairing for Orange wines; roasted or spiced slow cooked shoulder with quintessential North African seasoning. Roasted or grilled vegetables especially aubergine – a Baba Ghanoush with tahini and garlic – is also perfect. If cheese is your thing, sheep cheese such as Manchego, grilled halloumi or feta loves to be paired with orange wines. Temperature is important too, lightly chilled is best, twenty minutes in the fridge is usually enough to highlight the refreshing acidity and not mask the fruit and spice flavours. Here are a couple of our favourite Orange wines that are great for first timers and longtime fans alike.
The Funkstille Orange from Austria is a blend of Riesling, Gruner Veltliner, Gewurztraminer and Muscat that has enticing notes of mandarin, ginger, white pepper, citrus and green tea. This wine is perfect for Orange newbies. The Enblanco Orange from Spain is made from organic Garnacha Blanca grapes grown at 1100 metres above sea level, hand harvested and fermented in a mixture of clay amphora pots and oak barrels. The wine has notes of stone fruit, apricot, fresh Mediterranean herbs and citrus.
There is much to discover and enjoy with orange wines; we look forward to introducing them to you or helping you discover a new favourite on your next visit to the Stroud Wine Co.
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5 Witheys Yard,
55 High Street,
Stroud,
Gloucestershire
GL5 1AS
