In the wine world, where grape varieties and styles can seem infinite, one niche category is surging: orange wine. It’s no wonder when you consider how versatile it can be. “Mushrooms, root vegetables, roast pork, sauteed fish, aged Gruyere—basically all foods with earthy, savory, umami flavors pair well with orange wines, Christopher Tracy, winemaker at Channing Daughters in Bridgehampton, told me recently. He’s a pioneer in the category, having begun specializing in orange wines—also known as skincontact whites—way back in 2004.
“I was fascinated by orange wine, from a historical and philosophical perspective—and drawn to their hedonistic quality,” he said. Orange wines have an ancient lineage, it turns out, tracing their origins, in the country of Georgia, back thousands of years.
Rosé and orange wines share a common thread; both get their color from skin contact during fermentation. But rosé is made from red grapes and orange wine from white. Rosé is kept in contact with its red grape skins for anywhere between two and twenty-four hours—the short time frame allows for the luminescent light pinkhues and subtle flavors to come through. Orange wines are kept on their skins much longer—for days, weeks, even years, sometimes—which imparts tannins and phenolic compounds that give structure, complexity, and hues ranging from pinkish-yellow to yellow-gold, tangerine to amber. Color is not an important factor in assessing desirability.
Channing Daughters’ first two orange blends, Envelope and Meditazione (both $40), debuted 21 years ago, and were immediately heralded by top sommeliers. A few years later the winery released Ramato ($25), a copper-colored wine with aromas of citrus, chamomile, dried apricot and peach, and a savory finish. “A delicious, irresistible expression of Pinot Grigio!” Tracy exclaimed. “It really took off. We export Ramato to London and Tokyo.” For the last few decades there’s been a surge in orange appreciation. Beyond New York, aficionados covet two Italian producers in particular—Joško Gravner and Stanko Radikon, both from the Oslavia region of Friuli, a center of orange production. Their wines go for between $80 and $120 a bottle. Tracy is a fan.
His winery, Channing Daughters, offers orange tasting flights featuring five of their small production orange wines, which also include Ribolla Gialla ($38), made from a white varietal native to Friuli-Veneto, and Research Bianco ($42), a field blend of white grapes that’s luscious and tropical.
No Longer a Niche Category
In France, meanwhile, one biodynamic winemaker, Gérard Bertrand, is working to break orange wines out of their niche reputation. Bertrand owns 17 wine estates in the south of France in the region of Languedoc-Roussillon. Though he makes a full range of white, red, and sparkling wines, he has lately been on an orange wine crusade. He’s making skin-contact wines accessible by distributing them globally and pricing them well.
Recently I sat down with Bertrand at Le Bernardin in New York, where he was showcasing his top-tier orange, Villa Soleilla ($195) at an event for his latest book release, Multidimensional Wine. The wine, made from grapes sourced from the best vineyards of Roussanne, Vermentino and Viognier, has intriguing aromas of Mediterranean garrigue (rosemary, thyme, sage), caramel and honey. It’s bright, energetic and flavorful with fruity apricot notes and harmonious tannins.
For Bertrand the interest in orange wine started with cheese. “I wanted to make a wine that was perfectly paired with cheese, which is a Frenchman’s favorite meal-ending course,” he told me. “On a typical cheese board you have the soft runny cheeses, say Camembert or Epoisses, which match with white wine, and hard tangy cheeses like Mimolette or Comté that pair with red. The solution for all of them is orange.” The light tannins in orange, it turns out, work with all sorts of cheese.
Bertrand is a leading biodynamic winemaker using viticultural practices based on the early 20th-century principles of Rudolf Steiner, the Austrian occultist, architect, and philosopher, whose organic farming has a spiritual and cosmic component. Biodynamic wines undeniably have purity and dynamism, which makes them taste more alive and expressive.
Known for his talent in blending, Bertrand describes how he balances tannins and finds the tension between the minerality and body. “A great wine will reveal the soul of the place, its history and its ecosystem,” he writes in his book. “Grapes absorb aromas from the surrounding flora and capture both the aromatic spectrum of fruit, flowers and roots and their telluric and cosmic energy.”
Bertrand also makes several more accessibly priced orange wines. Orange Gold ($25) is a blend of Mediterranean grapes, with aromas of white flowers, candied fruit and white pepper, and Naturae Orange ($17), with citrus and flora scents, is an organic wine with no added sulfites. A few years ago, Bertrand launched a nonvintage sparkling orange wine, French Cancan Brut Nature Orange ($32). With a lovely salmon-pink color, notes of raspberry and strawberry, and no dosage (added sugar), the sparkler perfectly matches Indian and Asian cuisine.
“Rosé is more of an aperitif wine and orange is a food wine with the meal,” Bertrand declared as we sipped Villa Soleilla with lobster in a curry-lemongrass bouillon. True enough, I thought, unless your aperitif includes an abundant cheese platter.