What is orange wine ?
If you’re a bobo or simply curious, the term ‘orange wine’ certainly rings a bell… Here are the long-awaited explanations to help you shine in society. Despite what the news seems to suggest, orange wine is not new.
Dating back to ancient times, orange wine is one of the world’s first wines. It originated in the Caucasus in Georgia, which is considered to be the first region where man cultivated vines. Today, orange wine has a place of honour, and many winemakers still make their wine in large, traditional clay amphorae.
Let’s take a look at what’s involved in making orange wine.

Making orange wine
There are four essential points for developing orange wine. Even if these are not far removed from the way white or red wines are made, one small point may refresh our memory.
- Skin maceration consists of fermenting the white grape with what is solid in the grape, i.e. the skin and sometimes the stalk.
- Pigeage (punching down the cap) consists of pushing down the cap to encourage the skin of the berries to come into contact with the juice.
- Alcoholic fermentation, which occurs spontaneously, allows the sugar to be transformed into alcohol.
- The final stage involves separating the skins to prepare the wine for bottling.
In short, orange wine is “simply” a white wine vinified like a red wine.
Which aromas?
The choice of one or more grape varieties will define the personality of the wines. Next, the maceration time will refine the taste of the orange wine, often based on citrus fruits, white-fleshed fruits, herbs and spices.
Finally, you’ll find the tannins that come from the skin of the berries, making orange wine a tannic wine! On the whole, it is said to be more digestible, with a less pronounced sense of alcohol. What’s more, a freshness predominates on the palate, with rather low acidity.
Thanks to its personality, orange wine will delight your palate by accompanying many of your dishes.

Orange wine is another way of making wine from white grapes. We hope this description has whetted your appetite for this speciality… and that you’ll let yourself be guided by its distinctive aromas, combining the freshness of white wine with the tannins of red wine.
Our orange wine
At Cave de La Côte, we offer you two orange wines made from different grape varieties and produced using organic viticulture methods. Although their labels are similar, their taste is quite distinct.