Forget rosé, we'll all be drinking orange wine this summer

A fourth wine colour will be soon be taking over your fridge. Here’s everything you need to know about joining the tangerine vino squad
Orange wines... coming soon to a wine menu near you
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Liz Connor10 June 2016

Put the Sauvignon on ice and save the Merlot for a rainy day, because there’s a new type of wine you’ll want to serve when the weather gets warmer.

If you haven’t heard of orange wines, that’s okay, because the wine trend is still relatively under the radar, despite claiming a space on the wine lists of some of the London's top restaurants.

Amber in colour and light on the palette, they don’t taste of oranges and they’re not an alternative to Bucks Fizz - they get their name because of their colour rather than their contents.

“Although it can look like Irn Bru in a glass – orange wine is one of the most fun things you could be enjoying this summer,” says ITV’s The Wine Show expert Amelia Singer. “It’s an incredibly versatile and refreshing hybrid with the concentration and perfume of a fruity white, combined with the texture and structure of red and a colour that lies in between them both.”

The amber coloured wine is made by applying the same methods as red wine making to white grapes - the skins are left on, producing tannins. This technique of leaving the juice on the skins with minimal external intervention is called giving a wine ‘skin contact’.

The fermentation process, which can last from four days to over a year, is typically very natural, using little to no additives sometimes, not even yeast. The longer the grapes are left to sit, the more intense the colour, the perfume, fruit flavour and nuttiness of the wine, the latter point due to oxidation.

Wines under £20 - in pictures

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“The flavour of orange wine can vary depending on how it is made,” says Amelia, “but the best have thrilling perfume, combined with an enticing intensity of honeyed, fleshy fruit and assertive grip from the tannins.”

So if you’re a fan of red wine, you’ll want to give orange wine a try. The taste is sharper, herbier and nuttier than white wine, with an intense aroma and a robust palate that’s more of a summer alternative for red drinkers than a pleasant floral alternative to rose.

But what do you pair it with?

“Due to its mongrel makeup, it is a very versatile style that is fantastic paired with a range of flavours and cuisines,” says Amelia. “These wines can stand up to Indian, Ethiopian, Persian and Moroccan dishes with ease. Because of their refreshing acidity and intense fruit, they are great cheese board companions and their tannin and nuttiness means you could definitely bring out a charcuterie platter too.”

But the downside to orange wine is that you probably won’t be able to find one in your local supermarket. The wines are typically made in small batches, but the word is spreading fast. Where you can find them would be your local wine independent or wine bar.

“These wines are so food friendly you will also start to see them in a lot more restaurants, especially where there are tapas or sharing plates involved,” says Amelia.

Don’t want to wait until you next dine out? Here are three brilliant orange wines Amelia suggests you pick up this week:

Les Choix, Turner Pageot, Languedoc, France, 2012
£25 available from swig.co.uk

"For me, this is the most blissful introduction into Orange wine. Due to a long skin contact the perfume is heady and gloriously oxidative with orange peel, manuka honey and fleshy apricot all there for the taking. The taste holds its own with satisfying texture and concentrated finesse. Quince is combined with bitter almonds to create an almost dry honeycomb sensation. I enjoyed this recently with Persian food – the perfect choice to cut through rich lamb dishes but also complement the subtlest of spice and enhance pomegranate’s tang."

London's best wine bars

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Rami, Cos, Sicily, Italy
£26 Bedales Wine Bar, Borough Market

"I couldn’t do my favourite orange wine list without mentioning this iconic, natural winery in Sicily. All of Cos wines are of interest but Rami is one of the greats! Golden in hue due to extended skin contact, this wine is expressive and mouth filling. Concentrated Sicilian lemons reverberate in the glass, supported by a moreish salty nutty tang. Vibrant and refreshing this wine is perfect on its own or accompanied with delicious salads and Mediterranean cuisine. This wine can be found at many wine bars and is imported by Caves de Pyrene. My favourite way to enjoy it would be after a day at Borough market in the convivial Bedales Wine bar accompanied with their mixed Vegetable mezze and prawn pepperonata.

"For those wanting to try a whole range of Orange Wines, Bedales wine bar is doing a ‘Hands Off & Biodynamic’ wine tasting in its private room at its Borough Market venue on 22nd July."

El Baby Bandito, Stay Brave, Testalonga, Swartland, South Africa

£13. Kensington Wine Rooms

"South African producer Craig Hawkins' wine is not for the faint hearted. The name is a give away! This wine is made from old vine Chenin blanc and has had skin contact for 20 days. Full of verve, body, grip and a little bit of cloudiness, (Craig doesn’t believe in filtering wine), this is a gorgeous, foodie wine. Testalonga wines can also be seen at various restaurants and Natural Wine bars. The best introduction to them would be at Kensington Wine rooms where you can just sample an 125ml ‘taste’ of it for just £6. But be warned – after a taste you may find yourself buying a whole bottle!"

For more wine tips, follow Amelia Singer on Instagram and Twitter.

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