I am Constantine Baum master of wine and Today I want to focus on a fairly new But also really old wine type orange Wine these wines have caused quite a bit Of controversy over the last few years And they have changed the wine world Forever I’m going to tell you everything You need to know about orange wine and I’m going to taste a handful of Interesting examples that Leon picked For me Let’s get orange [Music] Orange wine is not a rose or wine made From oranges it also has nothing to do With the former president of the Clockwork or the agent while we’re at it It is made by picking healthy white Grapes crushing them and then leaving The juice in contact with the Skins During fermentation but let me show you What I’m talking about white one is Usually made by separating the solids From the grapes and the juice so you’re Just squeezing out those juicy berries Use the juice only And is God The rest orange wine however is treated Like a red wine which means you’re Crushing the berries and then you’re Leaving the skins in contact with the Juice during fermentation so it’s not a Red white or rose wine the leather would Be made from red grapes instead it’s its
Own category orange there’s more to Orange one than just the color the skins Of white grape varieties also contain Tannins acid and flavors and by leaving The skins in contact with the juice During fermentation those compounds Change the wine depending on the grape Variety orange ones smell more opulent And intense and they generally have more Tannins and a richer mouth feel orange One has become more popular over the Last two years and it might seem like This is a new invention but it’s Actually likely that this is the way White wine was made in the very Beginning the country that is most Closely associated with the production Of orange wine because it has been Produced there for a long time is Georgia Georgia is also the country with The longest track record when it comes To Wine production dating back to 6000 BC while we do not know exactly how they Made wine back then it’s generally Assumed that production methods haven’t Changed much since then to this day White grape varieties are fermented on The skins in and for us under the ground An important reason why it’s likely that They made orange wine in the very Beginning is that it’s so much easier to Throw grapes into a fermentation vessel And let the yeast do their work instead Of pressing the grapes first and then
Fermenting the juice because well you Need a press to begin with on top of That by extracting tannins from the skin You get the additional benefit of making The wine more stable which must have Been a huge plus during times when Cellar hygiene was pretty low and sulfur Wasn’t widely available the greatest Stability of orange ones is also one of The reasons why they are often Associated with natural wines the Natural wine movement has adopted this Hands-off approach to wine making as it Is easier to make good orange wine Without with low levels of SO2 however Anyone can make orange wine and today They are a small natural wine producers And at the same time there are huge Cooperatives producing orange wine Leon Has prepared some interesting orange Wines for me so laptop tasting begin so The first one is the 2018 vatsi zubani Estate in katsitali cuevi from Georgia I Recently traveled to Georgia and I was Pretty impressed by the wines and the Winemaking culture over there so it’s Definitely a place worth looking at and It’s certainly one of the top one of the Leading countries when it comes to Orange wine so the queeries are those Ancient clay on forests that have been Used there for a long long time and There can be thousands of liters big They are buried under the ground and
Well you basically just drop the grapes In there and let them ferment while the Amphora is more or less sealed so the Wine cemented for four to five months in Cleveries and it wasn’t really touched During that time so they didn’t do any Punch Downs or anything like that they Just let the wine do its thing oh You can see straight away that this is Not your ordinary white wine this kind Of looks like Campari in color so it’s Almost reddish in you it’s quite deep Intense they also call it Amber Amber Wine so this looks really amber colored Quite beautiful this is really Fascinating I mean apart from the color Its flavor is also very different it Smells of soy sauce it smells of stock Cube like a bouillon Cube so it’s really Like Umami in flavor if that’s even Possible there’s also some fruit flavor Coming through obviously you got some Notes of raisins a little pruney flavor Coming through as well so it’s not just These wild meaty flavors but there’s Quite a lot of it on the palette the Wine is super intense really grippy so The tenants are really coming through Here it’s Biting my tongue and my gums but in a Nice way so this is a beautiful wine Quite well balanced really interesting Um and it’s not necessarily one that you Should drink on its own but you can pair
This with lots of different dishes so The great thing with orange one is that You can either go on the meat route so You can definitely serve poultry here You can also Put some pork on the table but you can Also go like fried fish Pike perch or Something like this so there’s a huge Diversity of opportunities here this is Just the one that well that’s so complex And so So interesting so multi-layer then it Can deal with lots of different dishes So this one retails for 25 US dollars so It’s not a cheap one but I think it’s Definitely worth its price I’m going to Rate this 90 points I think it’s a Really good orange one the next one is The 2019 Matthias and ribola Jala from Napa Valley and it retails for 60 US Dollars ribola Jala is originally from The northeast of Italy and mathiason Bought some ribola Jala Vines from your School gravner with like a superstar in The natural wine movement and also one Of the leading figures when it comes to Orange wine the wine was fermented on The skins and the stems using native Yeast in open top fermenters he did some Punch downs and the wine was pressed off After two weeks and then matured for 18 Months in neutral barrels the wine was Also not filtrated or fined and only a Small amount of SO2 was added in the end
So it’s pretty close to a natural one I Guess but different to the previous one So not made in anaphora and well with a Little bit more control over Fermentation so you can see that the Wine is more golden in color it’s not as Dark and not as Amber as the previous One and well it looks more orange I Guess it also tastes very different to The previous one it’s more fruity There’s more flavors of lemon you also Got like ripe Apple but there’s also Nuttiness there so it’s quite complex Really appealing I think this is more Like intermediate so it’s not as Difficult to understand as the previous One this is something that a normal Wine Drinker might appreciate as well on the Palette it’s also less grippy so you Have less tenants and it’s quite fresh And vibrant it’s really mellow it’s Beautiful one it’s quite harmonious and Still interesting even though it’s not As crazy as the wine before And I do like this I’m going to rate This 91 points really yeah expressive Beautiful orange wine ribola Jala from Napa Valley which is kind of unexpected I guess and really really well made the Next one is the 2019 Vinewood Musta Griffin from the stairmark in Austria And it retails for 40 US dollars stereo Or the zooch dire Mark really focuses on Sauvignon blanc as a great variety and
This is an orange wine made from Sauvignon blow I’m really looking Forward to tasting this because aromatic Grape varieties and orange wines is Usually an experience this is a Biodynamic winery and they actually put The serving suggestion on the back label And they’re saying you should drink it At 14 degrees Celsius Which is a good idea I think orange wine Can be consumed at a higher temperature Than normal white wines it’s kind of in The middle between white and red wine The tannins tend to be more aggressive If the wine is really cold so it’s Better to yeah keep it at that kind of Temperature especially if you have a Really good one the wine was fermented On the skins for two to four weeks it Was then pressed off and then kept in Small barrels neutral barrels for 20 to Month the wine is quite orange in color It’s a little bit cloudy which isn’t Atypical for orange wine it smells of Ripe pear orange juice and also a little Bit Smoky there also some slightly green Notes coming through it’s very Interesting on the palette it’s quite Fresh vibrant there are tenants but they Are not super pronounced there’s a Little bit of grip but it’s quite Delicate and it has a pretty good finish A long finish so a very interesting one Sauvignon blanc is one of those rape
Varieties that I find really easy to Identify in a blind tasting but Sauvignon blonde made as an orange one Is much more difficult to identify I Would really struggle identifying this As a sauvignon blanc the whites just Taste and smell very different if you Ferment them on the skin I’m going to Rate this 88 points I think it’s really Solid it’s appealing it’s Lively and Fresh so a little yeah lighter in style So you could definitely serve this more With lighter meats or poultry and fish Rather than pork but it’s a versatile Really appealing aromatic wine the next Wine is the 2020 feel wines yo-yo from The mosul in Germany and I’m guessing it’s a Riesling in this Project diek for knee Port the famous Producer from Portugal and Philip ketter Have established a winery in the mosul And they’re making some pretty Interesting whites there so the grapes For these wines are sourced from peace Port and they grow on slaty soils As far as I understand only half of the Wine is fermented on the skin and the Other half is fermented in stainless Steel tanks and then they blend that Together so Let’s taste it it would make sense that Not all of the wine was fermented on the Skins because out of all of the wines That I’ve tasted so far this is kind of
The most restrained or maybe rather the More typical white wine in style it’s Golden in color so the color is quite Deep almost orange the flavor profile is Actually quite Appley lemony so this feels quite a bit Like Riesling in my opinion and on the Palette the wine actually doesn’t have a Lot of grip it’s Um it’s present so you have some tenants There for sure but you also have quite a Lot of concentration the acidity is a Little bit more rounded or lower than What you would expect from a straight Riesling Oftentimes those orange ones tend to be A little bit less acidic because of the Potassium that is extracted from the Skins that buffers the acidity on the Pallet so the pH tends to be a little Bit higher with orange wine compared to Normal white wines but That’s really geeky stuff now this is a Really well made wine but it’s not the Most Yeah most Straightforward orange one it’s a bit of A mix I’m going to rate this 90 points I Think it’s really well made but it could Be a little bit more Yeah outgoing it could be a little bit More proud to be an orange one why not Go all the way I mean there’s lots of Good Riesling in this world
But not maybe as much good orange wine Made from Riesling the last one is the 2024 Dory Pinot Grigio 4i Pista from Trentino in Italy and it retails for 40 US dollars this is going to be Interesting because Pinot Grigio as the Name indicates is a grape variety with Gray or reddish skins so When you leave those skins in contact With the juice you might actually get a Really dark colored orange wine or maybe A more like a light colored red wine so Let’s see what this one looks like in The glass porado is one of the leading Biodynamically working wineries in Italy They are really well known they’re Really pushing the boundaries so they Are doing good work for a Pista means Off the track so this is yeah probably Something that is a little bit different To normal wines but let’s see so this One was actually fermented in amphorus For eight months so it’s well made more In the way that the first one was made But does it look like the first one Let’s Let’s see So this looks more like a Rosie it’s Copper colored a little bit red it looks Like strawberry juice or something like That it doesn’t smell like strawberry Juice it smells like rhubarb a little Bit like cherries as well and there’s Some herbaceousness coming through as
Well on the palate it’s actually really Well made it’s very balanced there’s Some grip there some freshness some Acidity but also a lot of length and a Lot of balance this is quite beautiful I Mean it’s a really They’re a really beautiful wine I mean The tenants are mellow it’s not very Aggressively Orange in that way but it’s Really complex I think it showcases the great variety Pinot Gris really well Pinot Grigio And This is good stuff so I’m going to rate This 93 points I think it’s the best one In the tasting even though it’s maybe Not at least from the looks of it not The most typical orange one but it’s a Really good one all right I think this Was a very interesting tasting for Myself orange Wines in the beginning There were lots of really bad orange Wines and I think today winemakers Understand better how to make a really Good one I think all of those wines were Really good really great selection Selected by Leon But my favorites so I would say I Actually have three favorites here like I said all of them were really good I Think this was the wildest and most Gritty and well thought Thought-provoking one out of the lineup This one the matthiasan I think was a
Beautiful orange one really Perfectly rounded really well made but Yeah like I already said the foradori in My opinion was the best one out of the Bunch all of these ones well offer so Much to someone who wants to match wines With dishes or who wants to taste Something different and I can recommend Them all so thank you for watching if You like this video then please like it Down here subscribe to my channel if you Haven’t done so already my question of The day has to be what is your opinion On orange wines do you like them what Are your favorites do you not like them Please let me know down below I hope I See you guys again soon until then stay Thirsty [Music]