Skin contact. Sounds cheeky, doesn’t it? As discussed in the tannins post, grape skins are full of compounds that make wine more complex. Skin contact is simply the act of letting the grape skins sit with the juice during the winemaking process. Skin contact was once described to me as a tea bag. The longer you leave the
bag in, the darker and more concentrated your tea (and wine) becomes. Skin contact is the secret sauce behind today’s topic: orange wine!
Before we can dive into the basics of orange wine, we should touch on how traditional white wine is made. Starting with white grapes, you press them and
separate the skins from the juice. The juice then ferments on its own and the skins go off to the grape graveyard. For orange winemaking, white grapes are also used (not oranges). The difference is that the skins are allowed to stick around with the juice. Because of this, it is often referred to as ‘skin contact white’ wine. The skins hang out with the juice for a couple of days or longer, depending on the winemaker. The result is an amber, tangerine, or even honey-colored wine with a fuller body and a hearty tannic structure.
Orange wine is awesome for people who love their white wines, but sometimes want something with more body. With their extra weight, they are able to stand up to bolder dishes that a traditional white wine might get overwhelmed by (i.e. pork, fermented foods, curries, stews). Just like red wines are diverse, orange wines can have a ton of variety. Try more than one to find your favorites!