How is orange wine made?
Hello there! I'm Dr. Vinifera, but you can call me Vinny. Ask me your toughest wine questions, from the fine points of etiquette to the science of winemaking. And don't worry, I'm no wine snob—you can also ask me those "dumb questions" you're too embarrased to ask your wine geek friends! I hope you find my answers educational, empowering and even amusing. And don't forget to check out my most asked questions and my full archives for all my Q&A classics.
Dear Dr. Vinny,
How is orange wine made?
—Drake, Durham, England
Dear Drake,
Orange wines are extremely popular these days, so I’m glad you asked about them!
First, let’s clear up a common misconception: Orange wines aren’t made from oranges. (It’s possible to make wine from oranges and other fruits, but that’s not what people typically mean when they use the term.)
Rather, the name refers to wines made from white grapes with extended skin contact. The style is typical of Georgia, Slovenia and neighboring countries, where these wines have been made for thousands of years, often using amphorae and other special ceramic vessels. Today, orange wines are being made across the world, from Italy to California and beyond.
The name is also something of a misnomer because a lot of orange wines aren’t exactly orange. I find that many of them are coppery in color, and they’re often a bit cloudy like an apple cider. That said, ‘orange wine’ is fun to say and easy to remember, so I think the name is here to stay!
Orange wines can also be called skin contact wines. That term brings us back to how they’re made. When you make a white wine, you crush the grapes and then ferment just the juice, without the skins or other grape matter. Red wines are usually made by fermenting the juice with grape solids, including skins—sometimes even whole grape clusters or stems.
To make orange wine, you start with white wine grapes and ferment them using red wine practices, including skin contact with the grapes during maceration or fermentation. The result is nothing like white, red or even rosé wines, which is a good reason for these wines to get their own name.
Orange wines can be a bit of a curiosity among wine lovers. They’re often made using so-called natural winemaking methods, including adding minimal or no sulfur, and they’re usually unfined and unfiltered. As a result, they can sometimes be a bit sour or nutty, with flavors not typically found in other styles of wine. Some people love them—if you’re a fan of unfiltered cider, hazy beer or kombucha, orange wine is probably right up your alley—while others may find them a bit too funky. I recommend trying a wide range to find a producer and style you like.
—Dr. Vinny
