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How is Orange Wine made?
Orange Wine is, in a way, the counterpart to rosé wine: a wine made from white grapes in the same way as a red wine, i.e. by mash fermentation.
The white grapes are crushed after the harvest so that the colour, aroma and tannins are released from the berry skins. The mash is then fermented. Before it is finally pressed, the young wine is often stored for several months. The wine is often matured in concrete tanks, amphorae or large wooden barrels.
Due to the colour and tannins extracted by the maceration and fermentation, Orange Wine is dark yellow, amber or orange in colour, and the tannin is more or less noticeable in the texture. The aroma is not characterised by fresh fruity notes, but by dried fruits, nuts and earthy tones.
In the production of Orange Wine, numerous measures of conventional winemaking are not applied. These wines are often very low in sulphur, not fined and not filtered. Due to the special form of production and the long maturation period, they are less sensitive to oxidation than regularly produced white wines.
A wine law definition of Orange Wine does not yet exist.