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!

The Grapes are Harvested! But How Do They Become Wine?

Vineyards have been busy the last couple of months with harvest.  Once the grapes have been determined to be at just the right ripeness, it's a big rush to get them off the vines and out of the vineyard. And then the magic begins. Turning bunches of grapes into fine wines.  But, how does that happen?

It starts as soon as the grapes reach the winery where the grapes may be de-stemmed or left in whole bunches, depending on the grapes being used and the winemaker's desired outcome. In either case, the grapes are sorted to eliminate any that don't meet the winemaker's standards and to remove any leaves or other foreign matter that might be mixed in with the grapes.  

Now, the biggest difference is that white wine grapes are immediately pressed and the juice is separated from the grape skins and seeds.  But with red wines, the whole grapes or clusters are kept intact. The contact of the juice with the dark skins is what gives a red wine its color. Otherwise red wines would come out nearly clear. And when producing rosé, the dark grape skins are only left in contact with the juice for a brief period of time (hours) in order to just give it a pink hue.

Then it's on to fermentation. Large tanks are used in this process and here is where yeast is added.  It's the natural sugar in the juice of the grape that gets consumed by the live yeast. The bi-product of the yeast's consumption of sugar is alcohol and carbon dioxide (CO2).  Remember that red wines have the juice and skins together in the fermentation tank and the production of CO2 causes all the skins to float to the top of the tank.  So winemaker's have to periodically 'punch down' the skins to intermix them with the juice or 'pump over' the juice as another means of keeping the skins mixed in with the juice. But regardless of the grape type, the fermentation process is relative quick, lasting typically from ten days to two weeks.

Once fermentation is complete, white wines will be moved to stainless steel tanks or oak barrels for aging.  It's at this point that the red wine juice is now separated from the skins and moved to vessels for aging. Typically, red wines are aged in oak barrels, but steel tanks and concrete tanks may also be used.  White wines may be aged for months where reds may be aged for years. The aging times will vary considerably, again depending on the winemaker's preference.

Many oaked white wines and red wines will then undergo another process called malolactic conversion.  This converts the sharp and tart tasting malic acid to softer, smoother lactic acid.

At this point the wines may go through a process called 'racking' where the wine is periodically siphoned or gravity-feed to another vessel to separate the wine from any remaining sediment that has settled in the vessel.  The reds may also undergo a 'fining' process to remove sediment and particles using a binding medium such as egg whites.  Once these processes are complete, the wine is bottled, getting a cork (or twist-off cap), a foil capsule and a label, and then the bottles are boxed into cases and are ready to ship.

And it's just that easy!  But as has been said many times, making wine is easy -- making good wine is hard.  And so, while this process sound relatively simple, it's the great winemaker's, and their attention to details, that makes great wines.

Next time well talk about how the winemaker gets all those amazing flavors into wine. 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!