What is Orange Wine
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Orange wine is one of those funky, fun styles that's blowing up right now. Think of it as white wine's rebellious cousin that hangs out with the reds. It's made from white grapes but treated like red grapes during winemaking, giving it that signature amber glow and a whole lot of personality.
How It's Made
Winemakers crush white grapes (like Ribolla Gialla, Rkatsiteli, or even Sauvignon Blanc) and leave the juice in contact with the skins, seeds, and sometimes stems for days, weeks, or even months, unlike typical whites where skins are whisked away in 2 to 8 hours typically.
The extended skin time that Orange wine experiences extracts tannins, phenols, and pigments, creating structure and those oxidative, nutty vibes. Often, it's low-intervention or natural winemaking, using wild yeast and minimal additives. You will also see some producers age these wines in ancient clay vessels specifically called qvevri from Georgia, where this style dates back 8,000 years, or clay/terracotta amphorae.
Orange wine is huge in Italy/Slovenia's Friuli-Venezia Giulia region and spreading to all parts of the winemaking world. In fact, Orange wine sales are surging with a global market valued at around $280 million in 2025, projected to hit $540 million by 2035 with a 6.8% CAGR.
Europe dominates in Orange wine consumption (starting at $115 million in 2025), but North America's booming too, fueled by wine drinker curiosity and on-trade spots like wine bars grabbing 49% of consumption.
What It Tastes Like
Expect a coppery-orange hue, grippy tannins on the palate (hello, food-friendly texture!), and flavours like dried apricot, tea, herbs, bruised peach, or even a whiff of sourdough, spice, and sometimes funky or "cloudy" from no filtration. It's fuller-bodied than most whites, with a dry, savoury edge that bridges crisp whites and bold reds. The
aromatics on Orange wines are also something of note. I am especially fond of the aromatic herbs you pick up like saffron, lemon balm, and chamomile.
Notable Producers of Orange Wine To Try
Primosic (Friuli, Italy), Collio Pinot Grigio Skin Ris. 2020
A must try!
They see their Skin collection as a mosaic of terroir—marrying minerality and structure from ponca soils to craft elegant, complex wines that honor the land's unique personality without excessive intervention.
Skerk (Friuli, Italy), Malvasia 2020
A true head nod to the past.
From the rugged Carso terroir, this orange gem shows intense amber hues with layered scents of orchard fruits, wild herbs, and sea-spray minerality.
Gravner (Friuli, Italy), Ribolla Gialla
This one is truly iconic!
Josko Gravner's iconic amphora-aged stunner boasts a burnished orange hue, profound aromas of dried apricot, honeyed nuts, tea leaves, and earth. Tannic and age-worthy with oxidative depth.
Domaine Brand et Fils (Alsace, France), Fleurs Maceration 2022
The colour will knock your socks off.
This wine is a juicy, textural orange wine from Alsace that leans into Pinot Gris’ chameleon personality. It is stunning to look and equally stunning on the palate.
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