What does orange wine taste like?
Orange wine tastes like a white wine with a red wine's grip: dried apricot, orange peel and black tea, a little nutty and sour, often with a wild, funky edge.
Orange wine
white wine with a grip
Orange wine isn't made from oranges. It's white wine made like red: the grape juice sits on the skins for days or months, which turns it amber and pulls in tannin, that dry, tea-like grip on your gums. So it tastes like a white wine that went somewhere: dried apricot, orange peel, bruised apple, black tea, sometimes honey or nuts. A lot of it is made in the natural wine style, so it can be cloudy and a bit funky, a little like cider or sour beer. It's sturdier than most whites, which makes it great with food.
Where you’ll see it
At natural wine bars and on adventurous by-the-glass lists, sometimes listed as skin-contact or amber wine. It shows up next to small plates, cheese, charcuterie and spicy food.
Order it if whites bore you and reds feel too heavy, or you like a little funk.
Quick questions
- Is orange wine made from oranges?
- No. It's made from white wine grapes left to soak on their skins, which gives it an amber color and a bit of tannin.
- Is orange wine sweet?
- Almost never. Most orange wine is dry, sometimes a little sour, with a gentle bitter grip from the grape skins.