It’s time to dig out your raincoats, grab your ankle boots from the back of the cupboard and put the heating on (sparingly!)…yes, it’s officially autumn and the leaves are not the only thing looking good with their orange hue.

October sees the advent of National Orange Wine Day, but what’s in a name – orange, amber, skin contact or macerated whites, we’ve got you covered when it comes to well made, super drinkable Orange wines. So forget your pumpkin spiced lattes, grab a bottle of the orange stuff to get you into the cosy autumn spirit.

Emiliana Animalia, 2022 [Organic]

Leading organic producer, Emiliana have gone orange. Their first skin contact wine is made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc grapes fermented on skins and aged in concrete eggs for 5 months. Golden orange in colour and aromas of ripe stone fruits, figs and dried herbs on the nose.  Animalia has a grassy Sauvignon tang beneath the Orange structure. Clever, tasty stuff from Emiliana.

An easy drinking style which I would pair with a fully stacked board of cheeses and cured meats and graze the night away.

Teliani Valley Glekhuri Kisi Qvevri, 2019

This amber wine is a blend of four Georgian varieties that you can’t pronounce – luckily the rich dried fruit and nutty flavours and long dry refreshing finish are much easier to get your mouth around! The wine is made using centuries old traditional Georgian winemaking methods,  fermentation on skins takes place for 7-10 days, once the fermentation is finished the grape skin remain with the wine for 6 months. Technically speaking this is an amber wine and if orange is the new black, amber is the old orange…

Don’t chill this wine, you’ll just bring the tannins forward at the expense of the lovely flavours – serve cool, not cold!

Domaine des Tourelles Skin, 2020

This is the first production of Orange wine from Domaine des Tourelles. Winemaker Faouzi Issa has been mentored by a couple of Georgian winemakers who have been teaching him their methods of producing Amber wines. The native Merweh grapes come from 150 year old vines which grow wild in the mountains of Lebanon. Fermentation takes place in Terracotta jars where the wine spends 4 months on skins.  

Daschbosch Skin Contact, 2022

This Negroni-esque skin contact blend from Daschbosch shows intense savoury nose with notes of dried citrus peel, marmalade, brown spice and almond skin. Full flavoured and textural on the palate with flavours of apricot kernel and fruit peel followed by a fine bitter orange finish. A great wines to highlight the ‘umami’ factor in most modern Asian dishes.

Giornata Orango Tango 2022

Orango Tango is a wine that defies expectation. It is a blend of several white varieties that were fermented on their skins. Unlike most orange wines, this lot was filtered prior to bottling, giving something that is decidedly more approachable than most in the genre tend to be.

Exotic aromas of creamsicle, mango, gooseberry, jasmine and ceylon tea. The texture is soft and supple with a subtle tannic structure. Another Orange wine that pairs well with Asian food…pass the kimchi please!

Nachbil Grünspitz 2019

An orange wine made from the Grunspitz variety, Nachbil believe theirs is the only dedicated grafted Grunspitz vineyard in the world, so how’s that for provenance?

A thick-skinned, small-berried regional oddity, this is really quite unique. Intriguing and complex aromas of Seville orange and rose petal with savoury, slightly nutty notes.  Perfect with autumn stews  or a lamb and apricot tagine.

Le Coucher de Soleil, Vin Orange de Cérons 2021

This rich and fresh Bordeaux dry orange wine from near Sauternes is a blend is 50/50 Sauvignon Blanc and Gris fermented for 5 weeks on the skins. The resulting wine, although still quite pale in colour, is richly flavoured and textured with fresh walnut tannins and the estate’s characteristic finesse, not to mention  the aromatic signature and minerality of the Cérons terroir.

Pequeñas Fermentaciones Naranjo Torrontes/Moscatel  2022

El Porvenir’s march into the future continues with the ‘Pequenas Fermentaciones’ range of small, experimental wines. A blend of Old Vine Torrentes and Rosé Moscatel, its complex and pleasantly fresh, with floral notes of orange blossom and jasmine complimented by citrus and grapefruit aromas. The perfect partner for grilled halloumi dishes.

Sharpham Estate Little Bee Wild Ferment Pinot Gris, 2021

A complex and textured orange wine produced with minimal intervention from start to finish. The nose has layered aromas of pink grapefruit, white nectarine, cider apple and orange peel, with more sour stone fruit flavours on the palate supported by broad and grippy tannins, taught acidity and a long generous finish. An exciting wine which highlights the potential for England to develop its own distinctive styles of classic varietals.

This wine appears slightly hazy in the glass and pairs beautifully with an apricot and honey vegetable tagine.