Orange Wines

Saturday, September 23rd
4:30 - 5:00

This week we are going to delve into a style of wine that is very new to the large majority of wine drinkers, although they are based on a style of wine making that has been around for millennia.  Orange wines are the topic of the weekend, and are a compelling style of wine that are often unlike any other wines one has tasted before.  They have many similarities to, and by their strictest definition are a specific subset of, the Natural Wines movement we explored a few weeks back.  By a broader definition they are a close relative, or opposite side of the coin, to our beloved rosé wines.  An Orange Wine is one made of white wine grapes, but with extended contact with the seeds and skins during fermentation.  The majority of wine grapes, whether red or white, have clear juice and pulp - all the color in red wines comes from extended contact with the grape skins after the grapes have been crushed.  With most modern white wines, the grapes get crushed, and then immediately the skins, seeds, stems and extraneous matter (called the 'must'), gets removed, and the winemaker proceeds with just the fruit juice.  This leads to a clearer 'white' wine without darker colors.  In making Orange wines the fermentation is more akin to red wine production, with the juice staying in contact with the must during fermentation, for periods from as little as several days to several months.  Besides extracting more color than your average white wine, this soaking also pulls certain chemical elements into the wine, most notably tannins, which add complexity, structure and texture.  In its strictest definition, Orange wine is also very much a part of the Natural wine movement, in that all fermentation happens naturally with native yeasts, all of the agriculture is organic if not biodynamic, and the wine making is definitely minimal, with no additives.  They embody a way that wines were made centuries back.  As was the case with our approach to our Natural wines tasting, we are taking a bit of a broader scope. All of the wines we will taste have certainly had some skin contact, but in varying degrees; this will lead to an array of colors from just a darker yellow tone, to a honeyed golden color, all the way to the hazy copper 'orange' tone from which the style derives its name.  While all the wineries involved in our tasting follow at least sustainable agriculture in their vineyards, and the winemakers for these selections have used minimal additives in their wines, not all will necessarily have been made with native (non-innoculated) yeast nor from strictly biodynamic vineyards.  We do definitely feel that we've selected wines that follow the outline and ideology of Orange wines, and are each compelling in their own way.  To make sure there is a wine for everyone, we are also including a lovely red  that certainly adheres to the Natural wine ethos for those customers who only drink red wines.
We hope you can join us to discover something new this Saturday.

Gradis'Ciutta Pinot Grigio
Collio DOC, Italy, 2015

Supernatural Wine Co.
'The Supernatural' Sauvignon Blanc
Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, 2014

Supernatural Wine Co.
'Spook Light' Pinot Gris
Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, 2016

Domaine Glinavos 'Paleokerisio'
Semi-Sparkling Orange Wine
Ioannina, Greece, 2015

Populis Wine 'Reversée' Carignane
Venturi Vineyard, Mendocino County, California, 2016

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Extra Tasting Next Week!

Champagne Lombard

Thursday, September 28th
5:00 - 7:00
with special guest M. Thierry Lombard

1er Cru Extra Brut

1er Crut Extra Brut Rosé

Grand Cru Brut Nature Blanc de Blancs

Grand Cru Mesnil Sur Oger Brut Nature