by carlie
Most people faced with the ever challenging question, “which color wine this evening” will think to respond with only red, white or rose. But for a small group of wine elitists, orange is their wine color of choice.
Orange is a new category of wine made from white wine grape varieties that have spent some maceration time in contact with the grape skins, basically drawing out an orange or salmony color. When served cold, it is most reminiscent of a white wine. When served warm, taste buds will think red. Intrigued? So was I, but let me forewarn you– finding orange wine is not an easy task.
Orange is only being served by some of the edgier sommeliers around the world. It’s a full-bodied wine, cloudy, almost with some texture to it and a taste that I can only describe as pungent. And for that reason, it is extremely difficult to pair with food.
When you’re next at a restaurant with a sommelier, ask him or her about orange wine. They’ll be excited to get to use some of their more obscure wine knowledge on you and if you’re lucky, maybe they’ll pour you a taste. For the rest of us, here’s a list of three orange wines you can purchase online:
La Stoppa Ageno, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Umbria Bianco Arboreus, Paolo Bea, Italy
Cheers!
