Orange wine: 5 bottles to discover and enjoy

Vin de macération, blanc de macération, vin ambré, vin orange. The names for this type of wine seem almost as numerous as its shades of orange (golden, brick, amber) and its aromas (spices, citrus, dried fruit, candied fruit, gentian, coffee...).

To put it simply: vin orange is a white wine vinified like a red wine. How is it made? The skins, pulp, seeds and sometimes the stalks macerate together from a few days to several months. As a result, the color intensifies, the tannins add structure, the aromas gain in power, and a more or less pronounced bitterness emerges.

How do you drink an orange wine?

Orange wine is a wine of texture and aromatic complexity. In other words, it's a godsend at the table. It succeeds where other colors can easily fail: it refines bitter flavors, supports iodized flavors, stands up to spices, garlic or chili, and goes well with a host of different cheeses. The only requirement is to avoid serving it at temperatures below 14 degrees, which would harden its tannins.

Where can I find orange wine?

Over the past few years, orange wine vintages have been multiplying rapidly in all regions of France. More and more wineries are taking inspiration from this ancestral winemaking technique, practiced for over eight thousand years in Georgia, the cradle of viticulture (the country still practices it in kvevri, traditional buried amphorae).

French references are more likely to be found in wine shops, restaurants and estates than in supermarkets, as the few winegrowers producing these wines mostly work organically, biodynamically or using natural methods. Not least because maceration of white grapes is a good way of reducing sulfur doses (grape skins and tannins are rich in natural antioxidants) and stimulating natural fermentation.

Last but not least, grape varieties that are struggling in the face of global warming regain their momentum. With maceration, even overripe, alcohol-rich berries gain in acidity as much as they lose in sweetness, while bitters enhance the sensation of freshness. Gewurztraminers and muscats, sometimes heady, are thus revealed under a different, orange-tinted sky.

5 wines to go orange

If you're unfamiliar with this wine, which has become "trendy" of late, here are five bottles to get you started.

Stéphan Elzière, Wine in the afternoon 2021

The Cantal region of Auvergne has just six estates, including that of Stéphan Elzière. This cuvée is an excellent introduction to maceration wines: delicate, acidic and easy to digest. It gives the sensation of being barely denser than a peach infusion. A wine of fragrance rather than substance, it is filled with aromas of flowers and candied fruit.

• Grape varieties: Sauvignon and Souvignier Gris
• Organic farming
• Price: 13 euros at www.whynat.fr
• Instagram page

Domaine Ozil, Bois blanc 2021

Here's a wine born in the southern Ardèche, near Vallon Pont d'Arc, by brothers Thomas and Jean-Daniel Ozil. Flavors of grapefruit zest, white pepper and mango enliven a slender juice, with a punchy acid framework that firms the palate. Fine tannins stitch the wine together. 14 degrees of alcohol are absolutely imperceptible, such is the freshness of this wine.

• Grape varieties: Marsanne and Sauvignon
• Organic farming
• Price : 14 euros
• Domaine Ozil

Domaine de la Renardière, Juste un contact 2021

The golden color of this wine already indicates the lightness of its maceration, as the name of the cuvée suggests. Its uniqueness lies in the aromatic finesse into which it plunges us and which it leaves on the palate. Citrus fruits, flowers, peppermint that opens up the chest and a smoky, malty touch that may evoke a peated whisky. Tender fruity volume, great acidic freshness, a delight.

• Grape variety: savagnin
• Organic farming
• Price: 27 euros

Domaine des Rutissons, Esquisse 2020

Verdesse is the flagship white grape variety of Isère, a delightful neighboring vineyard to Savoie. It's more structured here, thanks to the contact between the skins. Don't be fooled by its wide-ranging evocations (quince, apple, honeydew, white pepper, menthol, coffee pastry), the palate remains dry, devoid of sweetness. The great finesse of this wine naturally makes you want to take another sip.

• Grape variety: Verdesse
• Organic farming
• Price : 16 euros
• Domaine des Rutissons

Domaine Brand & Fils, Kvevri 2021

Philippe Brand let his grapes macerate for ten long months in one of his Georgian amphoras, the famous kvevris, 800-liter underground containers. The resulting wine takes the imagination back to the origins of winemaking. The nose plunges into a vegetal ambience, around laurel leaf and spruce. Then the palate becomes gripping, but remains supple: the tannins fill it out without smothering it. This assertive body leaves generous notes of bread and cereals on the long finish.

• Grape varieties: Auxerrois, Chardonnay, Riesling
• Organic and biodynamic farming
• Price : 30 euros
• Domaine Brand & Fils