A beginner’s guide to orange wine – is it the new rosé?

Orange wine has been fashionable in wine bars for years and now seems to be taking off elsewhere too.

If you are still wondering what it is, think “white wine made like red wine”, as one producer explained it to me. White grapes are crushed and left in contact with the skins, and sometimes pips and stalks too, for a period ranging from hours to days to months. Sometimes called skin contact or amber wine, it was the traditional way to make white wine in many areas before modern technology arrived. It has been made in Georgia and neighbouring Armenia for thousands of years and still is today. More recently it has been revived by winemakers in Slovenia, Friuli and now elsewhere too.

In Georgia orange wine is usually macerated, fermented and/or aged in clay amphorae or qvevri, although producers in other countries sometimes use stainless steel or wood. It runs from pale gold to deep brown in colour. Some are a little cloudy, too. Producers are now playing with different hues to create light, fruity summer wines, sometimes called sunset wines because of their pinkish, reddish orange colour. The term can also include rosé and light pale red wines that are served cool.

As the juice has been in contact with the skins, orange wines can be lightly tannic, which makes them good with food. They should be served cool or at room temperature rather than chilled as this will highlight the drying tannins in the wine.

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Provided your fellow wine drinkers like orange wine, it is a great all-purpose party wine that will happily match with all kinds of food, from spicy Indian to grilled red and white meat to salads, pickles and dips. They make nice aperitifs, too: a little bit fruity with a touch of astringency.

Nanit Orange Wine 2023, Castilla, Spain, Organic

13.5%, €14.99

Fresh and floral with citrus peel, white fruits and a dry, lightly grippy finish. A great introduction to orange wine.

Whelehan’s, Loughlinstown, Co Dublin; McHugh’s, Dublin 5; The Wine Centre, Kilkenny; The Vintry, Dublin 6; Centra, Cabinteely, Co Dublin; Jus de Vin, Portmarnock, Co Dublin; Redmond’s, Dublin 6; SuperValu Lucan, Co Dublin

Parra Jiménez Verdejo Orange ‘El Troyano’ 2024, Spain, Biodynamic

11.5%, €19-21

Tangy peaches, orange, dried fruits and spice with a refreshing finish. Beguiling wine.

Drinkstore, Dublin 7; Green Man, Dublin 6; Lennox Street Grocer, Dublin 8; Blackrock Cellar, Co Dublin; Slemon’s Daybreak, Furbo, Co Galway; Sheridan’s Cheesemongers, Dublin 2