So How Does Orange Wine Get its Color?

Last time we learned that grape juice is basically clear and the color of wine comes from the skins of the grapes. The juice from white wine grapes spend little or no time in contact with the grape skins and juice of red wine grapes spend days or weeks in contact with the red/purple grape skins. Rosé is made from the juice of red wine grapes that spend just a small amount of time (minutes or hours) in contact with their grape skins.

But, there is also a style of wine that has seen recent popularity and it’s orange wine. These wines are produced using white wine grapes, but instead of immediately separating the skins from the juice, the skins remain in contact with the juice during the fermentation process, just as in red wine making.  The skin contact during the fermentation process darkens the juice color to anything from a deep yellow color, an orange color, or even to a golden-brown color.  Thus, 'orange' wine.

And it's not just the color that's different in orange wines. Since the juice has had so much skin contact, these wines can take on bigger, bolder flavors and they can be quite tannic, like a red wine.

Orange wines should be served slightly warmer than a white wine and slightly cooler than a red. So, 55 degrees F would be just about right.

There you go. A wine’s color is all about the skins. Cheers!