What is orange wine?

Orange wine is not a wine made from oranges, as you may think!

Orange wine has its name because the colour of the wine can get somewhat amber-ish or even, well, orange in colour.

Orange wine is a white wine made with the red wine technique. This style of wine is also known as skin-contact wine or amber wine. It is a white wine made from green grapes, but with a different technique. Not entirely the same technique as with red wine, but the essential similarity is the maceration process.

Most white wines are made by pressing the grapes and fermenting the juice alone - without the grape skins and seeds/stalks. When you are making red wine, the juice ferments with the skins. Orange wine is made from green grapes that are allowed to macerate with the skins. This process develops the aromas and adds complexity and body to the wine - and even adds tannins.

Orange wine is an exciting and versatile choice for food, especially with heavily spiced food, like Indian cuisine or North African. The time and temperature of the maceration, together with the characteristics of the grape, define what style of orange wine you can expect.