Orange wine explained: white grapes made the way reds are made

What orange wine is

Most white wine is made by pressing white grapes straight away and fermenting only the juice. Red wine is fermented with the skins, which give it colour and tannin. Orange wine takes white grapes and treats them like red: the juice ferments in contact with the skins, sometimes the seeds and stems too.

The skins of white grapes carry yellow and golden pigments plus tannin. Given days, weeks or even months of contact, they turn the wine amber to deep orange. No oranges are involved. Our guide to red, white, rosé and sparkling wine explains how skin contact decides the colour of every wine.

Where the style comes from

Skin-contact white wine is very old. In Georgia, in the Caucasus, wine has been fermented for thousands of years in large clay vessels called qvevri, buried in the ground. White grapes were traditionally fermented in them with their skins. This tradition is recognised by UNESCO as part of the world's intangible cultural heritage.

The modern revival began largely in north-east Italy and neighbouring Slovenia, where winemakers in Friuli returned to long skin contact. From there the style spread across the world, often within the natural wine movement, though orange wine does not have to be natural.

How it is made

1. Crush. White grapes are crushed (sometimes destemmed) and go into a tank, clay vessel or open fermenter with their skins.
2. Ferment on skins. The juice ferments with the skins. The cap of skins is pushed down or the juice pumped over it to extract colour and tannin, much as with red wine.
3. Macerate. Contact can last a few days for a light style or several months for a deep, tannic one.
4. Press and age. The wine is pressed off the skins and aged, often in neutral vessels such as old barrels, clay or steel.

Grapes with thicker skins and plenty of aroma tend to work well. Ribolla Gialla, Rkatsiteli, Pinot Grigio and aromatic varieties such as Gewürztraminer and Muscat are common. Our grape varieties guide covers the better known whites.

What it tastes like

Orange wine sits between white and red. It often smells of dried apricot, orange peel, tea, nuts, honey and herbs. In the mouth it has grip, from tannin, which white wine drinkers do not expect. It can also be slightly bitter, like strong black tea.

• Short contact gives a gently coloured, fresh wine with a light texture.
• Long contact gives a deep amber wine with firm tannin and savoury, sometimes oxidative notes.

The first sip can surprise a white wine drinker. Give it a second glass before you decide. Some orange wines are cloudy and lively, others clear and polished. The style varies a great deal between producers.

Serving and food

Serve orange wine cooler than red but warmer than most whites, around 12 to 14 °C. Too cold and the tannin feels harsh. A medium tulip-shaped glass works well.

Its tannin and savoury character make it a flexible food wine. It holds up to dishes that overwhelm a delicate white. Some pairings to try with Indian food:

• Tandoori chicken or paneer tikka, where char and spice meet the wine's grip.
• Mushroom or vegetable biryani.
• Kerala-style vegetable stew or appam with coconut curries.
• Chaat, where the tangy chutneys match the wine's freshness.

Very hot dishes still need care, because tannin and chilli heat together can feel harsh. These are suggestions, not rules. Our guide to wine and Indian food pairing has more ideas.

Why it is worth trying

For beer drinkers, orange wine can be a surprisingly easy route into wine. Its savoury, slightly bitter edge feels familiar to anyone who likes a hoppy or farmhouse-style beer. For wine drinkers it is a reminder of how much skin contact shapes a wine.

Once you have tasted a white wine made like a red, the difference between the two methods becomes very clear. It is a good way to understand that winemaking choices, not just grape colour, decide what ends up in the glass. Our guide to how wine is made follows those choices from vineyard to bottle.