Ever Wonder About Orange Wine?

Several years ago, we took an initial look at Orange wine. Having recently been asked about Orange wine, I thought it would be worth another look.

First, let’s get the most important point out of the way - Orange wine is not made from oranges.

Like ‘red’ wine and ‘white’ wine, Orange wine is categorized as such because of its color.

Now, let’s get to how Orange wines become orange in color. The answer is really quite straight forward. An Orange wine is produced with white wine grapes but it’s made using the same process that a red wine is made. That is, the juice of the white wine grape is left in contact with the skins of the grapes for an extended period.

This skin contact is in contrast to the way a white wine is produced where the juice is immediately separated from the skin of the grape. It’s this skin contact that results in the otherwise white wine becoming ‘orange.’ This skin contact can be just for a brief period of time (24 hours) or the skins may remain in contact through fermentation for a period of a week or more. The final color of Orange wine can vary across a range from yellow, gold, tangerine, amber or even pink.

The skin contact adds more than just color. It adds additional flavor and it adds tannin. So, Orange wines are generally bigger and bolder in flavor and have a more astringent mouthfeel 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.

Some people have tried to associate Orange wine with ‘Natural’ wine. But, it’s not true in general. Like any red or white wine, an Orange wine is only a natural wine if it’s been grown, processed and bottled using ‘natural’ methods.

While Orange wines are not that common, you may find them on wine lists at higher-end restaurants and wine bars, or at higher-end wine shops. So, keep an eye out for them and give an Orange wine a try. With its bigger and bolder flavors, Orange wines should pair well with many foods. Cheers!

Medium Bodied and Full Bodied White Wines

Light bodied white wines are a great place to start when learning about and tasting wines.  They are fresh and crisp with bright fruit flavors and high acidity.  So the next step up is into medium bodied and full bodied whites.

As I have been researching and putting together notes on white wines, I've found that it's been tough, as expected, to describe and define a wine's body.  That's because there are not strong lines between the categories of light, medium and full bodied wines.  But the characteristics of alcohol levels, tannin, residual sugar and acidity do give some basic guidance on a wine's body.

While white wine with less than 12.5% alcohol by volume (ABV) would be considered light bodied, medium bodied white wines are said to have 12.5% to 13.5% ABV and full bodied white are those with greater than 13.5% ABV. These are general guidelines, but at least this is one of the few characteristics that is actually shown on a wine's label (ABV percentage is legally required to be printed somewhere on a bottle of wine).

A wine's residual sugar (RS) is also a telling characteristic of its body, but it is directly related to a wine's alcohol level. The lower the alcohol level, the more residual sugar; the higher the alcohol level the lower the alcohol level. So you can expect a light bodied, lower alcohol, wine to have some residual sugar and to have a slightly sweet taste.  The medium and full bodied white wines will have higher alcohol, lower RS and little to no sweetness to them.

The acidity of medium and full bodied white wines is much lower than light body whites.  While the acidity in a light bodied white wine will give it a bright, crisp and mouth watering finish, medium and full bodied white wines will not. These will be richer and smoother.

And finally, there's the characteristic of tannin. This is something that isn't really a factor in white wines. Tannins come from the grapes skin, seeds and stems.  Most every white wine is pressed and the juice is immediately separated from the skins, seeds and stems. So tannin levels are next to zero.  So called "Orange" wines are made from white wine grapes and they to get contact time with the grape skins, seed and stems, giving them the characteristic light orange color (not the flavor of an orange). Tannins do play a huge roll in red wines and we'll say more about this when we address the medium and full bodied red wines in future postings.

In addition these four characteristics, one must consider that a wine's body is also influenced by the wine maker.  The grape variety isn't necessarily the key to determining the body of a wine. Take Chardonnay for example. A Chardonnay that is produced in stainless steel or concrete tanks is considered light bodied. But, if the wine maker chooses to age the Chardonnay in neutral oak it's going to be medium bodied. A Chardonnay that goes through the addition step of Malolactic Fermentation and is aged in new oak will be full bodied.  So, it isn't just the grape variety that determines a wine's body, it's also how it's made.

While Chardonnay is a great example of a medium or full bodied white wine, there are certainly others. And we'll get to them next time. Cheers!

What is Orange Wine?

It was recently brought to my attention that there is another type of wine out there.  It's called orange wine. But what exactly is this orange wine?

We are all familiar with red wine, white wine and rosé.  These are commonly produced throughout world. And, as a quick reminder, here is how they are produced:

• Red Wine - Amazingly, the juice from a dark skinned grape is actually quite light, practically clear. But, in the making of red wine, the juice is allowed to remain in contact with the grape's dark skin during the fermentation process. With prolonged skin contact, the juice takes on the dark purple-red coloring from the pigment of the grape's dark skin.
• White Wine - The juice from light colored (green) grape is immediately separated from the skins. The juice remains light in color throughout fermentation, but can turn a bit more golden and deeper in color when aged in oak barrels.
• Rosé Wine - Here, like a red wine, the juice from dark skinned grapes is allowed to remain in contact with the dark skin for a relatively brief portion of the fermentation process. Then, the juice is separated from the skins, leaving it a wonderful pink color.

So, now on to orange wine.  These wines are produced using white wine grapes, but the juice remains in contact with the skin of the light colored grape 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.

Although orange wine has been around since the beginning of wine making, the jury is still out on today's orange wines.  As for me, I think a need to do a little further 'hands-on' research on these orange wines.  I'll get back to you.  Cheers!