Discover orange wine grown and made in Norfolk – one of the most intriguing styles emerging from the county's independent vineyards.
Orange wine might sound like something entirely new, but the technique behind it is anything but. Sometimes described as skin-contact white wine, it is made from white wine grapes that spend time fermenting or macerating with their skins rather than having the juice immediately separated from them.
The result can be a wine with more colour, texture and complexity than you might normally expect from a white wine.
What is orange wine?
Despite the name, orange wine isn't made from oranges.
It starts with white wine grapes. In conventional white-wine production, the grape skins are usually separated from the juice relatively quickly. With orange wine, the juice remains in contact with the skins for longer.
Those skins contribute colour, flavour, texture and tannin to the finished wine – essentially borrowing a technique more commonly associated with making red wine.
The colour can range from golden yellow and amber through to distinctly orange, depending upon the grape, length of skin contact and winemaking approach.
What does orange wine taste like?
That's part of the fascination: there isn't one definitive orange-wine flavour.
Depending upon the grapes and winemaking, you might encounter ripe orchard fruit, citrus peel, stone fruit, herbs, spice and floral characteristics, together with a texture and gentle tannin that you wouldn't normally associate with white wine.
Some are fresh and approachable; others can be much more complex and savoury.
If you usually drink white wine but fancy trying something rather different, orange wine provides an interesting bridge between the worlds of white and red.
Is orange wine a natural wine?
Not necessarily.
Orange wine describes how the wine is made – particularly the contact between white grapes and their skins – rather than automatically defining it as natural, organic or biodynamic wine.
Individual winemakers may choose to follow those approaches, but the terms aren't interchangeable.
What food goes with orange wine?
The additional texture and structure created by skin contact can make orange wine particularly versatile with food.
Try it with cheese and charcuterie, richer fish dishes, roast vegetables, mushrooms, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flavours, curries and gently spiced food.
It can be an especially interesting choice for a cheeseboard when you want something less conventional than the usual red or white.
Orange wine made in Norfolk
Norfolk's wine industry continues to evolve as its growers and winemakers experiment with different grape varieties and techniques.
Skin-contact and orange wines are another part of that development, offering an opportunity to discover a very different expression of grapes grown here in Norfolk.
Our collection will change as different wines and vintages become available, so explore the Norfolk orange wines currently available below.
