Your wine choices, as your wardrobe’s, are subject to seasonal review. It’s a matter of weather and it’s a matter of mood. So what does the arrival of autumn (and the faint hope of an Indian summer) call for? Versatile wines with character and food-pairing appeal.
Pale rosés give way to their fuller-bodied counterparts, chillable reds make space in the fridge for rich whites and bolder reds sneak in. Cocktail recipes get zesty and spicy, perfect for longer autumn evenings.
Fittingly-coloured orange wines are also perfect autumnal wines. At once refreshing and generous, for these moody days when sun and rain might be out within the same hour. And as the season’s produce starts to fill market stalls these amber-hued wines will give you perfect and versatile food pairing options.
Scroll down for tasting notes and scores of 12 orange wines to try this autumn
How is orange wine made?
An orange wine is made from white grapes fermented in contact with the skins – hence why they are also called skin-contact wines.
The light hue of most commercially available white wine is a result of the separation of the juice from the skins immediately or shortly after the grapes arrive at the cellar, by pressing the bunches. Fermentation happens without the skins thus preventing the extraction of colour, tannins and other polyphenolic compounds.
The length of maceration (the period when skins are left in contact with the juice before, during and after fermentation) determines the colour intensity of an orange wine. Fermentation temperature as well as the vessel used for fermentation and/or ageing also have a role to play.
As mentioned above, maceration extracts tannins and flavours compounds in addition to colour, which is why orange wines tend to have a distinct textural character (often described as grippy), some weight on the palate and, therefore, great food pairing appeal.
It’s sometimes said that orange wines are ‘white wines produced like a red’. However, historically, fermentation on the skins was the rule for all grapes, red and white, namely because these were often grown and fermented together. The concept of single-varietal wine and mono-varietal planting is very recent in the history of wine.
Even when varieties started being planted and vinified separately, wines were rarely light and clear in the glass. Light-hued white wines are a modern invention, only made possible by modern winemaking techniques such as cold settling, sterile filtration, temperature control and routine use of sulphites. Wines used to have a slight hue due to a degree of oxidation if not skin contact.
Millennial revival
As the industrialisation of wine production took hold, orange wines – perceived as less sophisticated, symbols of a less technologically advanced era – lost territory to modern ‘cleaner’ styles. They survived in regions where the wine sector struggled to establish itself as an industry, such as the Balkans, and at the hands of mavericks such as Josko Gravner and Stanko Radikon.
Orange wines were rediscovered at the beginning of the 21st century as part of a backlash against the standardisation of industrially-produced wine and the resulting loss of diversity of grape varieties, styles and traditions.
Orange wine was adopted by the ‘natural wine movement’ as its flagship style and propelled to the international stage as a beacon of resistance to commercially-made wines. Skin-contact became shorthand for low intervention as both producers and consumers increased their awareness of the sustainability implications of mass production.
Countries, like Georgia and Slovenia, where the style had remained firmly in production throughout the 20th century, found a new, enthusiastic audience and encouraged new producers. The vibrant natural wine community in Austria and Italy passionately embraced orange wines, with producers like Gut Oggau, COS, Claus Preisinger and Elisabetta Foradori releasing some of the defining wines of the dawn of the new millennium.
Winemakers in Portugal, Spain and Chile started researching their own regions’ historical iterations of orange wine – especially those produced in clay vessels – while adventurous ‘new world’ winemakers also embraced the style. Even producers in England and Wales are exploring the expressive potential of fermenting white grapes on their skins.
The result was a fresh understanding of the history of many wine regions, of the expressive potential of white varieties, and of how wine styles need to be seen in a spectrum rather than classified as ‘black (or red) or white’.
It’s important not to confuse orange wine and natural wine: the latter is a style while the former is a technique. It follows that not all orange wine is necessarily natural, and vice versa – i.e. skin-contact wine is not necessarily ‘funky’ or low intervention.
While texture and complexity are attributes of all (good) amber-hued wines, they can also be extremely refined. You will find a range of expressions, and both adventurous and classical wine lovers will surely find an orange wine they love. This style is not as divisive as one might think.
Tannins, flavour, texture – perfect food wines
Aromatic complexity, structure and textural character are what make orange wines special. At the crossroads of a red and white wine, they playfully stimulate and challenge the senses. Imagine the freshness and taught acidity of a white wine entwined with the tannic grip and suppleness of a red. What could possibly be better to pair with food?
Many orange wines are perfect companions for cheese platters, smoked fish, root vegetable-based dishes and roasted meat. They usually have a herbal, savoury edge that brings a meal’s flavours to life, supported by gentle tannins and firm acidity.
Best enjoyed only slightly chilled, skin-contact wines have a fresh vibrancy but also a sense of textural warmth, perfect to ease yourself into autumn’s mood. Nothing better than a picnic with a amber-hued bottle alongside the season’s harvest bounty – grapes, pear and Mediterranean citrus – before the winter’s loom sets in.
Great orange wines for autumn – 12 to try:
The wines below have been tasted and rated by Decanter’s editorial team and contributors.
