Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 2 Episode 15- O is for Orange Wine
Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
This month to geek out with Orange wine we had the famous Craig Camp from Troon Vineyard with us. Craig is a wealth of knowledge on so many fronts. I remember tasting their Orange Riesling at an Oregon Wine trade show. I wasn’t a fan. Little did I know that was their first, and neither was Craig. I am very happy to report they have mastered the process and the Amphora Amber Vermentino was outstanding.
What is Orange Wine? Orange wine isn’t new. The tradition began many centuries ago in Georgia and is still practiced there today. White wine grapes will sit on the skins and extract color and some tannin. That is just the beginning. It really begins in the vineyard because you have to farm these white wine grapes as if you were going to make a red wine. You need to give them more skin exposure to get phenolic ripeness that you will need to make the wine. With Orange wine you are skin fermenting so you need those phenolics to be ripe just as you would if you were making a red wine. Orange wine has some of the same structure and tannins as a red wine.
Listen or watch the webinar and hear Craig speak so passionately about Orange wine. You’ll learn about the structure and how versatile it is. What grapes are good for making Orange wine and what food pairs well with it. Craig will have you thirsty for a bottle by the end of the webinar.
Troon Vineyards
Troon Vineyards Applegate Valley Oregon 2019 Estate Grown Amphora Amber Vermentino SRP $35 - If you have never tasted an Orange wine, this would be a great bottle to introduce it to your palate. It’s elegant and complex, smooth and creamy on the palate. Notes of grapefruit and orange rind with bright acidity. Don’t drink the wine too cold. Let it warm up a bit after taking it out of the fridge. The cold will mute the flavors.
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