Seven reasons why I love orange wines by Simon Woolf
05/05/2013 by Simon Woolf
I’m drawn to outsiders – people who dare to be different, who stand out proudly from the crowd.
That makes orange wines – and the winemakers who produce them – an easy sell. This is a style that can shock, surprise and thrill. A stand-out orange wine tasting at Styria’s Ploder Rosenberg winery reminded me of how much I love these adventurous, and occasionally challenging beverages.
Here’s why:
1. They’re not made from oranges
Orange wines are white wines where the grape juice has been left in contact (macerated) with the skins for a few days, weeks or even months, giving the finished wine an attractive orange (or rosé or amber) hue. Orange wines normally have more body and structure than a normal white wine, and may even have noticeable tannins.
2. The flavours are complex, arresting and unusual.
Sick of your white wine tasting of stone fruits, citrus and … er…. that’s it? Orange wines are never neutral – they can taste and smell of anything from dried apricots, to nuts, roasted herbs, plum skins or even red onion marmalade. And they vary tremendously, from light and mineral, to full-bodied and really wild.
3. Like many of the best ideas, orange wines have their basis in centuries old traditions.
Georgian qvevri (amphora) wines could probably claim to be the great grand-daddies of the style, having an unbroken 8,000 year old tradition – and winemakers in the “Capo d’Istria”, an area now spanning three national borders (Italy, Slovenia and Croatia), have spearheaded a renaissance of the style over the last two decades.
4. They’re frequently more stable and age-worthy than your average white wine
The grape-skin tannins act as anti-oxidants, protecting and stabilising the wine so it can age gracefully over the years. The best orange wines (see my list below) can be truly superb after 5-10 years in the bottle, as the tannins soften and the flavours gain complexity.
5. They allow the winemaker to work in a less-interventionist manner
The risk of spoilage or oxidation is considerably reduced by the presence of phenolics, from grape tannins. That means the winemaker can opt to use less sulphur dioxide to counteract the effects of oxygen and ageing. Filtering and fining can also be avoided, if the producer takes care with hygiene in the winery.
6. Some of my favourite winemakers make fantastic examples of this style
Fulvio Bressan (Friuli Collio), Sandi Skerk (Friuli Carso), Miha Batic (Vipavska Dolina), Paolo Vodipivec (Friuli Carso), Georgio Clai (Istria) and Mladen Roxanich (Istria) are passionate producers who can really make an orange wine sing
7. They demonstrate the age-old links between the winemakers in the “Capo D’Istria”
North-Eastern Italy (Friuli), Southern Slovenia and North Western Croatia (Istria) may be separated by national borders these days, but the cultural and linguistic links persist – and orange wine is a tradition that has long been the norm in all of these regions. The commonalities are fascinating to observe, from grape varieties, attitudes to winemaking to just tasting the finished products.
Article published with permission of author Simon Woolf. Check his web site at: http://www.themorningclaret.com/2013/seven-reasons-why-i-love-orange-wines/