Wines of the week | The rise of orange wine

Orange wines are very trendy. Suddenly, everyone starts producing it, but not with the same know-how or the same concern for quality. And we end up with anything and everything in this category. Would you like to taste real good orange wines? Here are three that amazed me with their impeccable quality.

Veronique rivest
Sommelier, guest collaborator

Initiation wine

Here is the ideal wine to learn about orange wine. Yellow in color (not all skin maceration wines are orange!), It is made with Austrian grape varieties Zierfandler and Rotgipfler, as well as with Riesling, Chardonnay, Muscat and Traminer. It is very aromatic, with notes of peach, orange blossom, chamomile, smoke and gun flint. Very dry on the palate, with a lot of freshness, and moderate tannins, it shows that texture one would expect from a good orange wine, with grain and a certain amplitude. Its delicately salty finish makes it a prime candidate for the table: try with a squash salad with feta cheese, a smoked salmon quiche with lots of fresh herbs, or a potato salad with dill.

Keeping: 1 to 2 years.

Weingut Loimer Gluegglich Weinland Österreich, $ 21.60 (14704383), 12%, organic.

Consult the SAQ file

Discreet, but expressive

In the Montefalco region, Francesco Mariani produces some of the best wines of Umbria, with the greatest respect for the environment. This wine is made from 100% Grechetto, the region’s emblematic white grape variety, cultivated biodynamically. Two days of maceration with the skins give a dark yellow wine with amber reflections. The nose is discreet, with delicate notes of apricot, almond and sweet hay, but it is in the mouth that the wine really expresses itself. Very dry, with ripe fruit, it shows superb texture on the palate, with hold, grain, noble bitters and a solid tannic presence. Very tasty, and very complete, it will be delicious at the table with seared scallops in brown butter, roasted fish with Jerusalem artichokes, a risotto with wild mushrooms.

Keeping: 4 to 6 years.

Raina Grechetto Umbria 2019, $ 22.15 (14502001), 13%, organic.

Consult the SAQ file

Rich, nuanced and complex

Along with Georgia, the region of Friuli, in northeastern Italy, is one of the most renowned for the production of orange wine. Here, in the Collio Goriziano region, very close to the Slovenian border, the Paraschos family cultivates seven hectares of organic vines and produces natural wines, inspired by the region’s historic wines. Orange One is a blend of ribolla gialla, friulano and malvasia fina. Maceration with the skins lasts about two weeks, and after fermentation, the wine spends two years on lees in tuns. With a strong orange color, the wine opens with a very beautiful nose, rich, nuanced and complex: orange, citrus peel, black tea, jasmine, orange blossom. Very dry, and just as complex on the palate, with texture, grain, a lot of freshness and a good presence of tannins, very ripe and fine.

Keeping: 4 to 6 years.

Paraschos Orange One Venezia Giulia 2018, $ 31.50 (13614642), 12.5%.

Consult the SAQ file