Orange wine is one of those things that sounds odd until you try it. It is not made from oranges. It is white wine made the way you make red wine, with the grape skins left in contact with the juice during fermentation. What comes out is unlike anything else in the glass.
What Makes It Different
Standard white wine is made by removing the skins almost immediately after pressing. With orange wine, the skins stay in for anywhere from a few days to several months. That skin contact is what gives orange wine its colour, its texture, and its tannins.
The result sits somewhere between a white and a red. It has the aromatics of a white wine with a grip and weight that is closer to a light red. If you have ever found white wines a little thin and reds a little heavy, orange wine is frequently the answer.
Where It Comes From
The technique is ancient. Georgia has been making wine this way for at least 8,000 years, fermenting in large clay vessels called qvevri buried underground. The method was almost entirely confined to the Caucasus region for centuries, used by small producers making wine for local consumption with no commercial ambition and no exposure to the outside world.
The modern wave of interest was reignited in the 1990s by a small group of producers in Friuli in northeastern Italy and across the border in Slovenia. Josko Gravner and Stanko Radikon are the names most often cited: winemakers who returned to ancient methods and produced wines so different from anything else on the market that they created a category almost by accident. Today it is made across the world, from the Rhone Valley to South Africa to New Zealand. Quality varies enormously, which makes a trusted source important.
What It Tastes Like
Expect texture above all. Orange wine has a grip and weight that standard white wine simply does not have. Flavours tend towards dried fruits, nuts, and chamomile, with a tannic bitterness that you might associate with tea or walnuts. It is often described as savoury and complex. The colour ranges from pale amber to a deep burnished orange depending on how long the skins were in contact with the juice.
Very short skin contact, a few hours to a day or two, produces wine that is barely distinguishable from a full-bodied white. Extended contact of weeks or months produces something far more structured and tannic. Most commercially available orange wines sit somewhere in the middle.
Common Misconceptions
It tastes like orange juice. It does not. The name refers to the colour, not the flavour. There are no oranges involved at any point in the production.
It is always funky or faulty. Bad orange wine can be cloudy and volatile. Good orange wine is vivid, structured, and clean. The style has a reputation for funkiness that does not reflect the best examples of the category.
It is a new trend. The technique is several thousand years old. The current interest is new. The wine is not.
It only works for natural wine enthusiasts. Orange wine is increasingly appreciated by conventional drinkers who want something more textured than white and lighter than red. It fills a gap that neither category covers.
How to Serve It
Orange wine benefits from being served slightly cooler than room temperature, around 14 to 16 degrees. This is warmer than most whites, closer to the temperature for a light red. Serving it too cold suppresses the aromatic complexity and makes it taste flat.
A wide-bowled glass, similar to what you might use for red wine, helps open up the aromatics. Some orange wines, particularly those with extended skin contact, benefit from a short decant of 20 to 30 minutes. This softens the tannins and lets the wine breathe properly.
What to Eat with It
Orange wine is one of the most food-versatile styles you can open. The tannic structure and savoury character work well with a wide range of dishes:
- Hard cheeses and charcuterie: the tannins cut through fat in the same way a red wine would
- Middle Eastern food with spices and dried fruits: the dried fruit notes in the wine echo the food
- Roasted vegetables and grain dishes: the earthy, savoury quality complements plant-based cooking well
- Oily fish such as mackerel and sardines: the structure handles the richness of the fish
- Korean and Japanese food: orange wine has a natural affinity with fermented and umami-rich flavours
- Dishes that fall between meat and vegetables: orange wine bridges a gap that neither red nor white fills comfortably
Orange Wine in the Netherlands
Interest in orange wine has grown considerably in the Netherlands over the past five years, driven partly by the Amsterdam restaurant scene, which has embraced natural and skin-contact wine more enthusiastically than most European cities outside of Paris and London. A number of independent wine bars now lead with orange wine on their list, and the category has moved from curiosity to recognisable style for a growing number of Dutch drinkers.
For a country with a strong culture of food appreciation and an adventurous approach to eating out, orange wine is a natural fit. It suits the more textured, spiced, and fermented food that Amsterdam restaurants have become known for.
Is It Here to Stay?
Yes. Orange wine has moved from novelty to a recognised category in the space of twenty years. It is now on serious wine lists, stocked by independent shops across Europe, and made by producers who have committed their entire output to the style. Once people try a well-made example, they tend to keep coming back. The texture and complexity offer something that neither conventional white nor red provides.
Where to Start
The Douloufakis Muscat Amphora at €23 is a good introduction to the style. Made in Crete from the Muscat grape with significant skin contact, it has the amber colour and textured character of a well-made orange wine without tipping into something too demanding for a first encounter with the category. Browse the full collection to see what else is currently available.
For a fuller introduction to the category including how it is made, what to expect from the tasting experience, and how to serve it, read our Orange Wine 101 guide.
Until next time, stay nosey.
