“Do you have any orange wine?” 

This was not something most wine professionals were asked 10 years ago, or even three, but now seem to be a daily proposition. The niche style has turned into something of a buzzword, a shorthand for “give me something new, different, or unique.”

It doesn’t fit into a hierarchy of classics and was ignored by some of the cognoscenti — which makes it a perfect entry point for the new counterculture of wine seekers, those who are up for adventure in the alternative. 

The truth is, orange wine is actually an ancient style and one worth familiarizing yourself with, no matter where on the wine spectrum you fall.

Red, or actually black, grapes came first. Berries on vines needed to attract birds to eat them, fly away, and spread them across the globe. White, actually yellow-green, berries were a mutation of the black ones. Scientists think they were noticed about 4,000 years ago by humans who felt the phenomena worthy of propagation. 

Thanks to the preservation of traditional winemaking techniques, still employed in the Republic of Georgia (also the birthplace of wine, some 8,000 years ago), we know the two colors were processed in exactly the same way.

At its most basic level, wine is made by throwing bunches of grapes into a container; yeast on the skins eventually start fermenting the berries; it finishes fermentation and the juice is then racked away from the skins. The resulting wine has extracted color, flavor, and drying, astringent tannins found in the skins of a grape berry. Black grapes make red wine; white (actually yellow-green) grapes make orange-y wine.

White wine is where the clear juice is pressed away from the skins of white or black grapes before they start fermenting, to avoid extraction. It has possibly existed in the vessel of some experimental wine maker since the first mutation. We know it was drunk by the Egyptians and continues to be the normal process for white berries today. 

Orange wine, on the other hand, slowly lost its caché and would possibly have become obsolete were it not for the Georgians and their backyard marani (meaning wine fermenting place).

What’s so fun about orange wines is their diversity of sub-styles, flavors, and textures from around the globe. Traditionalists like Nareklishvili in Georgia are refining traditional techniques for a finer tannin structure, perfect for pairing with steak or Chicharron. 

Domaine Glinavos in Greece has revived his father’s Paleokerisio, a slightly sparkling orange wine — the kind of thing you want on a hot beach day. 

Jean Michel Morel of Kabaj in Slovenia has combined his Bordelais oenology degree with the teachings of Georgian monks at the 700-year-old Shavnabada winery to make Ravan (among several other cuveés), an airy, elegant, citrus-toned, savory, late release wine that goes with just about anything.

As more and more consumers get hip to the style, producers have had to play catch up. There is a wealth of experimenting going on as each winemaker releases a version to appease an audience thirsty for a new experience. 

The list to look out for is exhaustive but should include: Alapiani and Gaioz Sopromadze from Georgia; Radikon, Gravner, COS, Il Censo, and Paraschos from Italy; Anima Mundi, Bodegas Honorio Rubio, and Alfredo Maestro from Spain; Sklavos from Greece; Austria’s Christian Tschida, Meinklang, and Claus Preisinger; and even Long Island’s own Channing Daughters. 

Regardless of whether you’ve tried them, there is no better time to start asking around for who has your new favorite orange wine.