These wines, also called orange wines, are now mainstays on menus and in wine stores.
Heres the lowdown on this buzzy beverage.
What Is Skin Contact Wine, or Orange Wine?
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First, a refresher on how wine is produced.
Virtually all color in wine comes from contact with the skin, says Hoopes.
Otherwise, grape juice is clear.
you might make white wine from any grape, even red grapes.
For example, pinot grigio is a white wine made from red grapes.
If the winemaker is making white wine, the juice has no contact with the skins.
Orange wine is made in the style of red wine with white grapes.
Orange wines likely originated thousands of years ago in what is now the Republic of Georgia.
Are There Other Types of Skin-Contact Wine?
All red wines are technically skin-contact wines, since they get their color from red grape skins.
But, not all roses are skin contact.
“Some are made by blending white and red wines,” says Patterer.
How Does Skin-Contact Wine Taste?
The color can range from pale yellow to deep amber.
Or, it may even be pink-ish.
It may also look a little cloudy, if the wine was finished without filtering.
In general, orange wine has a deeper, fuller flavor than white wine and often a heavier texture.
It might even taste a bit sour.
Because the flavor of skin-contact wines can vary so much, be sure to try multiple bottles.
Just because one isnt to your liking doesnt mean that you’ll be averse to all orange wines.
How to Pair Skin-Contact Wines
I typically enjoy orange wine with a hard cheese, says Townsend.
Gaeta typically enjoys drinking a glass of orange by itself, almost as a pre-dinner cocktail.
However, he continues, they certainly have a seat at every table.
Think orange wine teed up with a big plate ofprosciutto and cheeses.
He also likes to serve them when he cant decide if a dish calls for white or red.
As for how to serve it, Townsend recommends skin-contact wine be served chilled, but not super cold.
When a wine is too cold, you miss out on a lot of its aromas and flavors.
Note that this is the case for white and rose wines as well.
One bottle he recommends from the latter isCOSs Pithos Bianco Terre.
There are interesting bottles to be had from California, as well, Gaeta says.
