Orange wine - New Trend, New Buzz Word, Or Is There A Method To The Madness?
Have you heard of wine called ‘orange’? No, it’s not made from oranges, and no, it’s not because of its colour. So, what is it then?
I was sitting in a bar on a lovely Brisbane afternoon, enjoying the mild warm breeze hugging my senses and thinking about how lucky I was to be there. For a moment I forgot the craziness of the world we live in and was just enjoying catching up with a group of friends before going to see a theatre show. The waiter came around to take the drinks order — a couple of whites, a glass of red, and a beer. “Oh, and wait, what is that orange wine on the menu — can I have that one? I’ve had it before and it was very nice,” said one of my friends. Apart from being extremely proud that people around me are remembering and recognising the wines they are drinking, the fact that it was an ‘orange wine’ struck a particularly high note in my imaginary wine appreciation symphony. “Orange wine?” I asked. “Since when are you into orange wines?” K proceeded to tell me about how it’s been a thing for her for some time, and how she enjoys the more complex whites, with earthy and nutty notes on the palate, and that’s why orange, for her, is the new white. As I was processing the conversation, I started thinking. Are we becoming more sophisticated wine drinkers as a society, appreciating more of the complex whites and differentiating not just the tastes, but the textures of wines, or is orange just a new craze?
Despite common misconceptions, orange wines are not natural or organic wines — they can be, but that’s not the point. Neither is it the actual colour of the wine — it generally ranges from softly golden to various shades of amber and orange hues. The point is, orange wines generally refer to white wines made with grape skin contact, which often results in a deeper, more vibrant colour. So, why call it orange? Well, none of the other names were particularly sexy — try selling something called ‘skin maceration white’ or ‘off-white’ or ‘skin contact white’ for all it’s worth! On the flip side, ‘orange wine’ sounds simple and somewhat exotic, so it stuck.
Before going on further, let me digest one more jargon term for you — ‘skin maceration’. It’s something that gets thrown around a lot in the context of orange wine, but not everyone understands what it means. Maceration is simply the process of keeping wine (or grape juice) on grape skins. This can be done before, during or after fermentation to achieve different results. The difference being, before ferment, you’re dealing with non-alcoholic liquid, pretty much water with fruit sugars floating around, so things that are soluble in water will get extracted and dissolve. This often includes the colour tannins, which in the case of white grapes, result in wines with orange hues. With maceration after ferment (used for red wine mainly), your liquid is mainly alcohol, so you’re extracting things that are soluble in alcohol — often used to polymerize the tannins (get them stuck together), which makes the wine softer. But we won’t dwell on this, today we’re talking whites! With skin contact during fermentation, you get the combination of the two, and it’s quite often the way orange wine is made.
Boat OCraigo Healesville Vineyard
Why bother with skin contact in white wines in the first place? Skin contact helps to build up texture. Unlike conventional white winemaking where skins are disposed of just after pressing juice, orange wines gain extra character, including tannins, flavours and colour from being left on skins. This results in a wine that is more complex and multidimensional. Some would even use the term sophisticated — I like to say ‘interesting’. From a more holistic approach, winemaking is an artform, which makes ‘orange wines’ an art style. Like in art, some styles are structured and dictated by guidelines, and others are free flowing and abstract. I would place ‘orange wine’ on the latter spectrum. What I love about that is the fact that it allows for creative interpretation from the winemakers, and the possibilities are endless. Just look at the wines below — each is made using different processes to create something inspiring and unique.
Words by Wine Chick for Caravan World