Sorry Rosé, there’s a new summer wine and she’s the talk of the town.

Orange wine has been mentioned on TV shows like Netflix’s Special and NBC’s Superstore. It’s even showing up on menu’s across London, but what is it?

The wine, contrary to its intriguing name, is not made from oranges. This trendy wine comes from light green grapes, the same ones used in white wine.

The main difference? The skin and seeds of the grapes are left intact during the wine-making process, much like red wine, creating an amber colour. This wine is quite low-interventional and most orange wines are considered natural wines.

The name ‘orange wine’ is quite new, coined in the UK in 2004 by David Harvey, but the process of making this wine is nothing out of the ordinary. It’s one of the oldest methods which dates back about 5,000 years.

In the early 2000s, this ancient wine production technique resurfaced when winemakers visited Georgia and brought them home. Orange wine is now produced in a variety of places like Italy, Slovenia, Greece, Portugal, California, France, South Africa and Australia.

The orange colour isn’t the only thing that sets this wine apart, its flavour is the largest differentiator. It’s bold, dry, and contains tannin like red wine; depending on how long the fermentation process even changes the taste of the wine.

Despite its growing popularity, you won’t be able to find a bottle of orange wine at your local grocery store— pop into an independent wine shop and you’ll be able to find a decent bottle while supporting a local business. Consume responsibly!

Stefano Ferreyros