Which of the following statements best expresses your opinion about orange wine?
It’s fantastic, I love it!
I like them just fine and I’d seek them out.
I’ll drink them if they’re in front of me, but I would not seek them out.
Don’t care for them.
Never tried an orange wine, but I’m curious.
Never tried an orange wine…and I’m ok with that.
Eric Levine touched me in my naughty place.
0voters
Last night I participated in a tasting of the wines of Friuli and tasted a number of orange wines. I had only tried a couple previously and now that I have a few more experiences under my belt, I can safely say that it’s not my cuppa. What say you?
Had a lovely 2012 Johan Vineyards Pinot Gris Drueskall last night pre-dinner, which is an orange wine, and while I wouldn’t seek out orange wine, I often like it.
I find them good for pairing with difficult-to-pair foods. So I like that niche they fill. I seek them out for that reason. They are also better if not served too cold.
Orange wines are something special, white wine grapes fermented in prolonged skin-contakt … so they have tannin, structure and a certain astringency …
The quality is very divergent, from awful and catastrophic to really outstanding … (and some of the worst are hiding behind the biological mask … but in fact they are only bad wines)
I just visited a wine-maker in Austria who makes two verions of Orange wines - very fine ones:
Sepp MUSTER
One is “GRÄFIN” (Countess) - fermented on the skins for 15-30 days - and
“ERDE” (Earth) - in skin contact for months up to a year.
Both are highly interesting and of top-quality - however they are not cheap … as is the rest of the portfolio due to the very high standard in the vineyards and cellars.
His “Sgaminegg” is one of the best Austrian whites wines ouside the Wachau, a cuvee of 50% Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc each.
This orange wine is not for everyday drinking, but an exellent company to several dishes … and I always have some bottles at home.
All his wines are perfect for long aging …
(Disclaimer: Sepp Muster is a dear friend of mine … )
There’s so much macerated white on the market, in so many different styles, that this is almost like asking if people like sparkling wine. So, I can’t use the poll, but here are my thoughts. I like some of the ones that aren’t too oxidative, especially if they show some varietal character, which many seem not to. Recent favorites of mine have been multiple recent releases of Radikon “S” series Pinot Grigio and Scholium Project Prince in His Caves (Sauvignon Blanc). Both of those fit the bill of not being too oxidative and showing LOTS of character beyond the typical orange wine aromas that seem predominant in way too many examples regardless of where they’re from or what grape(s) they’re made with. There are exceptions, like some of the older Radikons which have really done it for me, but I find that style, especially taken to the extreme of Gravner, way too variable in terms of condition while somehow having a sense of homogenization due to winemaking techniques (plus Gravner is just way too expensive, but that’s a different topic).
Sometimes they scratch an itch that must be scratched.
That said, there is a certain sameness to these wines that makes distinguishing them difficult, and I would place the pinot gris-roses in a different category than Friulian skni fermented wines. Every once in a while, you want a white that has extra dimension and tannin to it and these work very well at that time.