What is Orange Wine? And Why You Need to Try It. Now.

August 04, 2016 4 Comments

By: Eleni Gray 

Photo via enroute.aircanada.com

Orange Wine: No, It’s Not Wine Made from Oranges.

But what is it? Does it taste like oranges? 

No, it does not taste like oranges. It does have a beautiful orange color, though, which is where the name derives.  

Let’s break it down; and that will require a small lesson in how reds and whites are made. (An abridged version, of course.)

When white wines are made, the grape is essentially removed from its skin the moment the grape is crushed. The end result is a traditional white wine that has been separated from the “undesirable” flavors the skins would bring into the palate. 

Conversely, when red wines are made the skins of the grapes and the juice are left on. While the grapes are being crushed and as they macerate together, the wine ferments and the juice extracts color, among other things, from the skins. This gives red wine its signature texture, depth, and obviously, its dark color.  (If you’re curious, rosé gets its pinkish hue from using a red grape, but allowing only minimal contact with the skins before removing the skin as you would in the white wine process.)

ORANGE wine is essentially white wine, but given its beautiful darker orange hue because of the contact the grape has with its skin during the winemaking process. 

Orange wine is intense, in a good way. It’s like something you’ll never taste.  Because it’s made like nothing else you’ve tasted! It’s often been described as dry on the palate, but with a little bit of bitterness or sourness as you might receive upon drinking a red wine. WineFolly.com says it right when they say, “Often they’re so intense that you might want to make sure you’re sitting down when you taste your first orange wine.”

So! Do we sell it in store? YES. Should you come in and try it? YES. Do you need to sit down to taste it? SURE. We love exploring and showing people new things… specifically wine… if you haven’t caught on already. 

We have a beautiful bottle of ORANGE WINE in store currently, called Dinavolino from ITALY.

Photo via naturalwine.com

Come in and ask about it! We’re very excited about it, as are many people including Vogue, The Huffington Post, and The New York Post who has been quoted saying “Orange Wine is the New Rosé.” 

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