No, Orange Wine Isn’t Made From Oranges

It was 2 p.m. on a Saturday, the leaves were turning brown, and the Texas heat was finally forgiving enough for us to sit on a patio. I ordered a bottle of the Cirelli Trebbiano d'Abruzzo for the table (as always), and the rest of the group was skeptical at first. Skin contact isn't for everyone, but I believe in spreading the word about what we love. And if there's one thing I'm passionate about, it's orange wine.

Lo and behold, the table LOVED it. It was exactly what we needed: refreshing enough for a mid-season, people-watching patio hang, but with enough grip to get us excited for the colder season. Everyone was having a blast. Until someone blurted out, "It doesn't even taste like oranges!" When I tell you I FROZE. I put my secondhand embarrassment to the side and took it as an opportunity to show off my wine knowledge.

Orange wine isn't made from oranges, the same way rosé isn't made from roses. It's made from white grapes that are fermented with their skins (and sometimes seeds and stems) left in, kind of like how red wine is made. That's why it's also called "skin-contact" wine. The skins give it its amber-orange color, along with more texture, tannin, and a little bitterness than your typical white. A lot of orange wines are made in a natural style, meaning organic grapes, native yeasts, and little to no additives, so they're fermented ✨naturally✨. Not every orange wine is natural, though, so check the label or ask your wine person.

The flavor profile can be funky to some, but if you're old enough to drink wine, you're old enough to explore new flavors. It's nutty, tangy, a little bitter, refreshing, and complex. It pairs fabulously with spicy dishes, charcuterie boards, and mushrooms.

The technique was coined thousands of years ago in Georgia (the country!), where wine was fermented in qvevri, these big egg-shaped clay vessels lined with beeswax and buried underground. Georgian winemakers never stopped making it, and qvevri winemaking was even inscribed by UNESCO in 2013. They're the OGs. Over the last 20-some years, skin-contact wine has had a huge comeback, thanks in large part to winemakers in northeastern Italy and neighboring Slovenia who revived the style. Now you can find it everywhere from natural wine bars to your local Whole Foods wine aisle. The Cirelli I ordered comes from Abruzzo, a mountainous region along the Adriatic Sea that's also famous for its red Montepulciano d'Abruzzo.

So no, it doesn't taste like oranges. It tastes like thousands of years of history, a little funk, and the best patio afternoon of the season. By the time we finished the bottle, the skeptics were asking what else they should try, and my friend who thought it would taste like oranges ordered the second round. So consider this your sign: next time you see orange wine on a menu, take the leap. Worst case, you learn something. Best case, you find your new favorite patio wine.