27-06-2025
Orange is the new white for summer wine nights
They sit in between a white and a red wine, being made with white wine grapes but in a method closer to red wine production. As such, they offer some of the charms of both, typically retaining the vibrant acidity of white wines but combining that with something of the textural quality offered by tannins associated with red wines. They tend to be very versatile with food, though the lighter, more quaffable 'vin de soif' styles don't need food.
Orange wines (or amber wines as they are sometimes dubbed) are so-called because of their colour, ranging from light gold through bright tangerine to dark amber. They are also called skin-contact wines, in reference to the key difference between orange and white wines.
In white wine production, the pulp of skin and pips doesn't come into contact with the grape's juice after pressing. Orange wine starts out like red wine, in which that pulp is an important ingredient in the process. Instead of removing the crushed grape skins after pressing, as in white wine production, the skins are left to macerate in the grape juice during and often long after fermentation.
Red wines take their colour and their tannic qualities from the grape skins (and the pips, in the case of tannins). Tannins are what give certain red wines a drying, astringent effect on your mouth and gums; the tannins in strong tea do the same thing. Different grape varieties yield different levels of tannin and colour, depending on the thickness and pigmentation of their skins.
Some grapes are small with thick skins, meaning a lower potential juice-to-skin ratio; others are larger grapes with thinner skins, meaning a higher ratio of juice. Winemakers can also control how much colour and tannin they extract by various choices that they make, including how long they leave the skins in contact with the juice.
Likewise, for orange wines, the duration of skin contact can range from a few hours to several weeks or months, depending on what the winemaker is hoping to achieve and what grapes he is working with. Orange wines are often (but not always) made in a low-intervention 'natural' style, with nothing removed through filtering or fining, and nothing added including sulfites. Today's selection are chosen for their summer drinking charms.
Wines of the week
Giannitessari Rebellis da Uve Solaris 2022, Veneto Bianco IGT, Italy, 13pc, €25
This beautifully fragrant, golden-hued orange wine offers bright aromas of chervil and saffron, a subtle tannic grip and notes of watermint meets kumquat and citrus blossom before a bone-dry finish. Made in an oxidative style from Solaris, a naturally fungus-resistant grape variety (aka Pilzwiderstandsfähig, or PiWi), given a week's skin contact before ageing in terracotta amphora for 12 months. A great choice for Middle Eastern spiced dishes. Whelehans Wines;
Kumpf & Meyer, Y'a Plus Qu'a!, Vin de France, 13.5pc, €27.95
Dark amber and intensely aromatic with notes of mango, juicy pear and candied orange peel, this multi-vintage, skin-contact Alsace blend of Sylvaner and Auxerrois grapes is bottled unfiltered with no added sulfites. Dry and refreshing, it's a perfect summer evening quaffer. L'Atitude 51;
Georg Lingenfelder Morio Muskat 2022, Pfalz, Germany, 10.5pc, €24.95
Warm amber in colour with rich aromatics of orange barley water, nectarine jam, pineapple juice, turmeric and honeysuckle, this drinks fresh and vibrant with quince, kumquat and pineapple notes, subtle tannic grip, juicy acidity and a vibrant finish. Try with lemon roast chicken or oily fish with ginger. O'Brien's Wine;
Folias De Baco, Uivo Curtido Branco, Douro, Portugal, 10.5pc, €23.50
I previously featured the lightly sparkling pét-nat version of this, but this still wine is equally delicious: super pretty with explosive aromas of peach and tangerine and clean herbal notes, made from Moscatel Galego grapes given four months' skin contact in cement tanks. Independents including Green Man Wines, Pinto Wines, Baggot Street Wines,
Authochthon Bencze 2022, Balaton, Hungary, 11.5pc, €29.95
Spiced citrus and black lime notes in a concentrated, tangy wine made in an oxidative style, featuring three local grape varieties including Furmint grown in volcanic soils under organic certification with biodynamic viticulture, with eight days' skin contact and aged in amphorae. Sheridans (Galway), MacCurtain Wine Cellar (Cork), Blackrock Cellar, Loose Canon, Lennox Street Grocer
