Question 1

What is orange wine and how is it made?

Accepted Answer

Orange wine — also called amber wine or skin-contact white wine — is white wine made using extended maceration on the grape skins, in the same way that red wine is made. When white grapes are fermented with their skins (and sometimes stalks), the skins release tannin, phenolics, colour compounds and flavour precursors into the wine. The result is a wine with an amber to deep orange colour, tannic grip, oxidative complexity, and a texture that sits between a full-bodied white and a light red. The maceration period can range from a few days to several months (or even a year in traditional Georgian qvevri). The colour and tannin level depend on the grape variety, maceration length, temperature and vessel used. See maceration and red, white, rosé and sparkling methods for the technical background.

Question 2

What is a qvevri and what role does it play in Georgian winemaking?

Accepted Answer

A qvevri (also spelled kvevri) is a large clay amphora — traditionally beeswax-lined — used for fermenting and ageing wine in Georgia. Qvevri are buried underground to maintain a constant cool temperature. Grapes, skins and sometimes stalks are placed in the qvevri for fermentation; the vessel is then sealed and the wine left on its skins for months. The clay allows micro-oxygenation and the underground temperature provides natural stability. Georgian winemaking in qvevri is one of the world's oldest wine traditions — documented evidence of winemaking in clay vessels in the Caucasus dates back over 8,000 years. UNESCO added Georgian traditional qvevri winemaking to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2013. This ancestral technique is at the heart of the natural and orange wine movement's interest in Georgia. See natural wine explained.

Question 3

Are orange wines always natural wines?

Accepted Answer

Not necessarily. Skin-contact white winemaking is a technique — it can be applied with varying levels of intervention. Many orange wines are made in a natural or minimal-intervention style (native yeasts, no fining or filtering, low or no added sulphur), but it is possible to make a commercially stabilised, sulphite-added skin-contact wine that would not qualify as natural by most definitions. Conversely, most natural wine producers who make white wines do use some skin contact as a stabilisation tool — the phenolics from the skins provide protection against oxidation that might otherwise require sulphur additions. The overlap is significant but not total. See natural wine explained for a full discussion of what natural wine means.

Question 4

What food pairs well with orange wine?

Accepted Answer

Orange wine's tannin structure and savoury, oxidative complexity make it one of the most food-friendly wine styles. The tannin gives it grip to handle dishes that would overwhelm a conventional white — roasted chicken, pork belly, offal, mushroom-based dishes, aged cheeses, charcuterie, and the kind of umami-rich food that can flatten delicate whites. The wines in this workshop are particularly well-suited to Georgian cuisine (walnut sauces, grilled meats, cheese-filled bread), Italian cured meats and aged Parmesan, and Japanese food — orange wine has become a popular pairing with omakase-style menus where textural and savoury complexity is prized. See food pairing principles for the underlying logic of texture-matching.

Orange Wine Workshop: Skin-Contact Whites from Georgia to Slovenia

The line-up

What the session covers

About orange wine.