Orange wines are the talk of the wine world. If you’re ready to try on a new style—and color—Italy is at the forefront of an orange wave of wine with an ever-growing selection. It’s all part of a natural wine revival that challenges us to explore wine in its purest form.

First, orange wine has nothing to do with oranges. It’s a style of white wine made by leaving the grape skins and seeds in contact with the juice during fermentation. “Simply put, orange wines are white wines that behave like reds,” shares Antonella Manuli, the winemaker and owner of La Maliosa in Tuscany. As with reds, the pigment in wine comes from the skins, and traditionally, these are removed to make white wines. To turn wine “orange,” the grapes are fermented with skin contact, deepening the color from shades of pale tangerine to deep copper and amber. Manuli macerates her orange wines up to 25 days, allowing plenty of time to extract natural color, tannins and preservatives from the skins while developing complex texture, aromatics and flavors. There’s no one profile; orange wines can range from fresh and fruity to nutty and full-on funky. Also, don’t be dismayed if you notice a hazy hue or some sediment. Many winemakers choose to bottle their wines unfiltered to preserve natural flavors and aromas.

The recent proliferation of orange on trendy wine lists makes the style seem all-new. In fact, orange wines originated some 8,000 years ago in the Caucasus country of Georgia. As Manuli notes: “Not long ago, every white wine was orange. Before cellar technology evolved, there was no other way to make or preserve them.” Ancient winemakers fermented grapes with the skins in clay amphorae (known as qvevri or kvevri) sealed with beeswax to conserve the wine. Modern advances allowed winemakers to make whites with clarity and freshness, with added sulfites to preserve them. Orange wines looked rustic in comparison and fell way out of fashion. Nowadays, the pendulum has swung back to organic, biodynamic and natural winemaking, broadly speaking a commitment to produce wines with minimal interference from vineyard to cellar.

In the 1980s, winemakers in Friuli on the eastern edge of Italy were among the first to revive skin contact whites. These early trials nurtured a growing counterculture, one that eschewed modern interventions such as the use of pesticides, temperature-control fermentation, added sulfites and filtration. Then and now, orange winemaking has long reflected strongly held beliefs to embrace more traditional methods that are better for the environment.

Josko Gravner, a leading Italian winemaker from the Collio Goriziano region on the Slovenian border, is one of the original patron saints of orange wines. On a quest to capture the essence of Ribolla Gialla (a rare white variety known for bright floral and citrus aromas), Gravner became disenchanted with the high-tech wine scene of the ’80s and started experimenting with organic, skin-contact wines. A deeply personal creation, Gravner Ribolla Venezia Giulia Bianco is fermented with wild yeast in amphorae then aged in large oak barrels for years to reach an intense yellow-orange hue with savory truffle and marmalade flavors. Gravner shrugged off years of criticism with a consistent response: “I make the wine I like to drink.” The wine world has since caught up. Lauded today for preserving ancestral methods, Gravner’s orange wines go for more than $120 per bottle upon release.

Like Gravner, Antonella Manuli makes wine on her own terms. In 2013, she founded La Maliosa (or “magical place”) on 140 hectares in the Maremma, a beautiful area of southwestern Tuscany with a wild, uncultivated side. A woman entrepreneur who went to business school in the United States, Manuli was the first to make all-organic wines and olive oils in the Maremma. The locals considered her ideas somewhat eccentric, so she found a kindred spirit and mentor in Piedmont winemaker Lorenzo Corino. Working together, they pioneered new approaches to regenerative farming until his death in 2019. “La Maliosa is the idea of a new possible world, in the belief that a different idea of agriculture can exist, more respectful of nature and people,” Manuli expounds. La Maliosa Saturnia Bianco is a delicious, well-balanced orange wine with aromas of candied fruit and dried apricots, which is made from a blend of Trebbiano and Procanico, a rare white variety that Manuli helped rescue from obscurity. For Manuli, the best orange wines are all about varietal character that is laid bare with the skins on.

Tastings

LA MALIOSA SATURNIA BIANCO 2021

($30)

A BLEND OF TREBBIANO AND PROCANICO, A RARE WHITE VARIETY FROM TUSCANY. AROMAS OF CANDIED FRUIT AND DRIED APRICOTS. AVAILABLE FROM VEROVINO.

PAOLO BEA “SANTA CHIARA” UMBRIA BIANCO 2019

($60)

A BLEND OF GARGANEGA, GRECHETTO, MALVASIA, SAUVIGNON AND CHARDONNAY FROM UMBRIA; THE WINE RESTS FOR YEARS BEFORE RELEASE. COMPLEX AND BOLD, WITH DELICIOUS NOTES OF RIPE PEACH, APRICOT AND SEA SALT.

VINO DI ANNA PALMENTO BIANCO 2022

($28)

A FIELD BLEND OF LOCALLY GROWN WHITE GRAPES FROM MOUNT ETNA IN SICILY MADE WITH PARTIAL SKIN CONTACT. FRESH AND DELICATE; AROMAS OF WHITE BLOSSOMS, FRESH LEMONS AND SEA SALT.

Not every Italian orange wine is made from such rare stock. Light, dry and fruity, Pinot Grigio is one of the most popular white wines in the world, but it has a historic orange side, known in Friuli-Venezia Giulia as ramato. To make ramato, Pinot Grigio grapes are crushed and macerated with the skins, taking on a copper (or rame) color with notes of spice, dried fruit and herbs. At the crossroads of pink and orange, ramato will appeal to rosé drinkers looking for added depth. Look for the newly released Sun Goddess Pinot Grigio Ramato, a collaboration between hip-hop star Mary J. Blige and the Fantinel wine family of Friuli. A self-professed Pinot Grigio lover with eight platinum albums to her name, Blige actively participated in the making of her ramato, a sun-kissed and peachy wine with light skin contact.

There is an orange glow in just about every wine region of Italy. Anna Martens and Eric Narioo started making wine on the volcanic slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily in 2008. Their Vino di Anna line is farmed organically and made in Georgian qvevri with light skin contact that gently bridges the way to orange. Also from Sicily, COS Ramí Terre di Siciliane Orange Wine is produced from 15-year-old Inzolia and Grecanico estate vines, described as a “dashing, groovy and unique sipping experience.” From Umbria, natural wine producer Paolo Bea’s “Santa Chiara” Bianco blends Grechetto, Malvasia, Chardonnay, Sauvignon and Garganega grapes as a “must try for anyone who finds themselves interested in orange wines.” Paolo Bea ferments everything together on the skins and holds the wine for several years to develop wild fruit aromas and big textures.

There isn’t one singular profile for orange wines from Italy or beyond—it depends on the grapes used, winemaking choices and intensity of skin contact. Orange wines are often listed as white wines “with contact” and are widely available through natural wine shops and specialty importers, like VeroVino, which prides itself on finding unique, small-batch selections. There is a full spectrum of orange wines to satisfy just about every palate, and winemakers are having a blast making them. *

Helen Gregory is the founder and president of Gregory + Vine. She has worked in strategic brand management and communications for beverage industry leaders such as Moët Hennessy USA, Rémy Cointreau and STOLI, and has led award-winning hospitality, beverage and lifestyle campaigns for prestige clients from the European Union to Argentina, Australia, Chile, Israel, South Africa and across the United States.