orange wine -
Yellow Muscatel
unfiltered directly into the bottle
An experiment turned into an exciting wine creation that has won several awards: Like red wine, yellow Muscat grapes are left on the mash for 2.5 weeks and then aged in used barriques.
Orange wine in Austria
Some wonder if the wine is made from oranges and don't have a taste in mind right away, and that's understandable, after all, the orange wine trend is still relatively young:
The name orange wine
Orange wines are known by many names that often have little or nothing to do with them, e.g.: Natural Wines or Raw Wines, but there are also terms such as "Amber Wine", "Skin fermented Wine", or "Cloudy Wine". .
It's mostly an unfiltered, unsulphured white wine with something extra, as the unique manufacturing process adds so many extra flavors.
The Austrian wine law distinguishes very strictly between "natural" and "orange" Cry.
Only certified organic wineries may produce unfiltered wines as "natural" wines. designate wine.
In Austria, non-organic certified companies can use the designation "Orange-" use wine.
How is orange wine made?
Orange wine is made from white grapes and yet it gets an orange hue - why is that? Normally, white grapes are picked and pressed directly, so the skins are removed and have no contact with the grape juice. Orange wine, on the other hand, is white wine that is produced like red wine - it is "mash-fermented". The grapes are crushed a little and then remain in the juice together with the skins and the stalks and stay like that for 2-3 weeks. This intensive contact does something essential: the color from the grape skins, grape seeds and the stalks goes into the wine, hence the orange color.
What are the characteristics of an orange wine?
Orange wine is always made from white grapes. No breeding yeast is used during production, ie there is spontaneous fermentation, which is purely the result of the yeasts present in the winery. Wine is normally sulphurized before bottling so that it does not spoil or oxidize – this is only done in small quantities with orange wine. Once it has fermented completely on the skins, there is not much that can go wrong, so it is only sulphurized in small quantities and is also not filtered. The wine is not fined and no other additives are used, so it is completely “pure” and is therefore very well tolerated.
What differences can there be in orange wine?
Apart from the different types of aging (concrete eggs, wooden barrels, barriques, steel tanks etc…), the wines are sometimes only a few days, 2-3 weeks or even months on the mash. Most wineries then press the wine, but there are also some that only drain the wine and do not use any pressing at all.
Every orange wine tastes different, the tannins can usually be felt well and the tannin content is also slightly higher due to the skin contact, as more phenols are extracted. Of course, every grape variety tastes different. Yellow Muskateller or Grüner Veltliner are often used for orange wines.
Due to the special production method, orange wine also tastes very different from a white wine that was pressed from the same grape variety, as the taste spectrum is much broader. Which aromas can arise: peach, honey, orange, black tea, roibos, nuts or herbs…
Our NESTOR orange wine from the Gelber Muskateller:
Our first attempt to produce an orange wine was a great success, in 2022 we were immediately voted the ÖGZ winner in the orange wine category – we are particularly pleased about that.
How does our NESTOR orange wine taste? Opaque in the glass, from the first second with a fragrant basket of citrus fruits, especially tangerine and rooibos. Creamy first attack on the palate, clear “muscle”, but also slightly spicy notes reminiscent of yellow chili. “Typical of the variety and yet unique”, is the ÖGZ’s conclusion.
And what is particularly nice is that even seemingly convinced non-orange drinkers enjoy our orange wine. The nose makes you curious and the sip afterwards is pleasant and creamy. We wish you a lot of fun with our “Oranges” and a lot of enjoyment with it.
What others are saying about our orange wine
We do our best to inspire wine lovers, wine experts and wine lovers again and again...
Opaque in the glass, from the first second with a fragrant basket of citrus fruits, especially tangerines, and rooibos. Creamy first appearance on the palate, clear "muscle", but also slightly spicy notes reminiscent of yellow chili. "Typical of the variety and yet unique", is the ÖGZ's conclusion.
We are happy to advise you personally
We will help you to choose the right wines for your very personal wine experience.
Give us a call!