What is Orange Wine?
“Orange wine” is the term given to white grapes that have had prolonged contact with their skins for days, weeks or months.Â
Grape-Growing
White grapes hang on the vine until they are ripe. They require a great deal of sun to ripen both the pulp and skins, accumulate sugar, and develop concentrated fruit flavors.
Once the grapes are ready to be harvested, they are picked by hand or machine and immediately chilled in the winery to keep them fresh. At this stage, it is important that the grapes aren’t exposed to too much oxygen so they don’t spoil and develop unwanted bacteria.
Harvesting Orange Wine
Soaking Orange Wine
In the winery, the white grapes soak with their skins for days, weeks, or months to extract added flavor, tannins and texture to the clear juice. This process gives the juice an orange hue.
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(In contrast, traditional white grape juice is not soaked on its skins and remains a clear color).
Pressing Orange Wine
After a long soak, the grapes are pressed to removed the juice away from the skins. The hue is orange.
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The orange juice is placed into fermentation tanks, vessels, or barrels.
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Yeast are added to the juice to consume the sugars and turn them into alcohol. This process may take a couple of week.
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The temperatures are a bit warmer than traditional white wines to extract as much fruit flavor as possible from the skins.
Aging Options for Orange Wine
When fermentation completes, the winemaker must decide what to do next. The wine may be:
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1. Bottled for immediate consumption
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2. Aged in oak to develop additional flavors and textures
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3. Stored in a vat and bottled at a later date.
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Orange Wine Flavors
Orange wines will have a base flavor profile from their grape variety, whether it be Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Riesling, etc.
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However, orange wine may have additional flavors like mandarin, honey, nuts, bruised fruits and sometimes petroleum. Some produce tangy or beer flavors as well.
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Cheers!
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