What is orange wine? Sylvia Ba, a wine expert with the VinoVoss AI Sommelier app, answers questions about this trending wine and how to pair it with Autumn’s hearty and warming dishes.
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The Holidays are a time to eat and drink well. As a hostess, you’re obsessed with pairing the two together to offer the perfect experience for guests. This season offers guests a new(ish) flavorful experience- orange wine. It’s emerged as this season’s “it” drink and you may have noticed restaurant menus adding an orange wine to two. With its notes of ripe of fruits and citrus it’s a perfect pairing for warm autumnal meals.
While orange wine might seem new, like many trends, this one holds true to the old saying, ‘There’s nothing new under the sun.’ “Many believe it’s a new trend, but it’s an ancient method of making white wine,” explains Sylvia Ba, a wine expert with the VinoVoss AI Sommelier app. As a fan of a good orange wine she shares how this new(ish) flavor is a perfect option for warming fall dishes. “Orange wines are often my go-to when I’m looking for a versatile option. Some describe it as a white wine that tastes like red, making it very adaptable for food pairings.
Wine consultant Sylvia Ba has years of industry experience and an MBA in wine business from Burgundy, France.
What Is Orange Wine?
Orange wine, also called skin-contact or skin-macerated white wine, is a type of white wine made using a method similar to red winemaking. Typically, white wines are produced by directly pressing the white grapes. The juice starts the fermentation process without the skins. Orange wine, as well as red wine, the grape skins remain in contact with the juice during fermentation and even during stabilization, which can last from a few days to a few months, depending on the winemaker’s desired style. This process extracts flavors and tannins from the grape skins, resulting in a deeper color than typical white wines—usually golden or orange, hence the name “orange wine.”
What fall dishes does it pair well with?
Many fall dishes pair well with orange wine. Fall dishes tend to be hearty and rich with plenty of spices. Orange wines are fuller-bodied than white wines and have a touch of tannin. The skin contact gives orange wines notes of orange peel, candied fruits, nutty, spicy, and sometimes earthy tones, depending on the grape varieties and the length of skin contact.
For example, pumpkin or butternut squash soup pairs well with an orange Muscat or Malvasia. Sweet potato casserole goes beautifully with an orange Gewurztraminer or Riesling from Alsace. A chicken or turkey pot pie matches well with a neutral orange like a Vitovska, or an orange from Catalonia in Spain, typically made with Xare-lo, Macabeo, and other local varieties. These wines also complement a Thanksgiving roasted turkey nicely.
Bodegas Parra Jimenez GULP Orange 2022 is a natural orange wine with bright citrus and almond notes.
For spicy dishes, what are aromatic grape varieties to look for in orange wine?
For spicy dishes, look for orange wines made from Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Muscat, and Malvasia. These aromatic varieties provide a sweet sensation that pairs perfectly with spicy food. With skin contact, they often develop more pronounced sweet and spicy notes like cinnamon and ginger, which complement spicy dishes, especially curries.
Poderi diCarlo Ribolla Gialla Orange is an unfiltered wine with notes of ripe pears and vanilla.
For rich fatty dishes, do you have any specific orange wines you recommend?
For rich, fatty dishes, fuller-bodied orange wines with extended skin contact are ideal. The acidity and tannins in these wines cut through the richness, while their fuller body matches well with the dish’s weight. Orange Ribolla from Italy’s Friuli-Venezia Giulia region and Slovenia, as well as Rkatsiteli from Georgia, are typically fuller-bodied than other orange wines and pair well with hearty, rich dishes.
Does orange wine pair well with any desserts?
I wouldn’t recommend pairing orange wine with desserts. Although some people might assume orange wine is sweet, it’s usually a dry wine. Some orange wines may have a bit of residual sugar, and aromatic varieties can give a sensation of sweetness. However, when pairing wine with desserts, it’s best to choose a wine that is as sweet or slightly sweeter than the dessert. Therefore, it’s better to opt for a dessert or fortified wine when enjoying sweets.
For those new to orange wine, what food pairing tips do you recommend?
Generally, pairing rules suggest matching the flavor intensity and body of the wine with the food. This means that fuller-bodied, longer skin-contact orange wines pair best with hearty, rich dishes, while lighter orange wines work well with lighter foods. In terms of flavor, aromatic orange wines shine with well-seasoned, spicy dishes, while more subtle, mineral-driven ones are better suited to neutral, more delicate dishes.
