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A32 FEATURE
Monday 23 october 2017
Orange is the new white? Unique amber wine creates buzz

By MICHAEL HILL The wines have caught
Associated Press on in recent years among
BURDETT, N.Y. (AP) — The connoisseurs who like the
sloping vineyards of New depth of flavors, sommeliers
York’s Finger Lakes region who can regale customers
known for producing gold- with tales of ancient tech-
en-hued rieslings and char- niques and drinkers look-
donnays also are offering a ing for something differ-
splash of orange wine. ent. Christopher Nicolson,
The color comes not from managing winemaker at
citrus fruit, but by ferment- Red Hook Winery in Brook-
ing white wine grapes with lyn, said the wines hit their
their skins on before press- “crest of hipness” a couple
ing — a practice that mir- of years ago, though they
rors the way red wines are remain popular.
made. Lighter than reds “I think they’re viewed by
and earthier than whites, these younger drinkers as,
orange wines have cre- ‘Oh, this is something new
ated a buzz in trendier and fresh. And they’re
quarters. And winemakers breaking the rules of these
reviving the ancient prac- Van Dyke-wearing, mono-
tice like how the “skin-fer- cled ... fusty old wine ap-
mented” wines introduce preciators,’” Nicolson said.
more complex flavors to In this Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017, photo, four brands of orange wine are photographed at Chamber It’s not for everyone. The
the bottle. Street Wines in New York. The wines are from left: Vinica 2015 Trebbiano Terre degli Osci Altra rich flavors can come at
“Pretty outgoing charac- Terre, from Molise, Italy; Salinia Wine Company 2012 Sonoma County Chalk Hill Pinot Gris; 2016 the expense of the light,
Cameron Pinot Grigio Ramato, from Dundee, Ore.; a RuBor Viticultores 2015 Sierra de Gredos
teristics. Very spicy, pep- Cebreros SADE Albillo Real, from Spain. fruity feel that some white
pery. A lot of tea flavors, Associated Press wine drinkers crave. q
too, come through,” wine- to connect wine to its roots of the market, according
maker Vinny Aliperti said, or to conjure new tastes to Eric Hemer, senior vice
taking a break from harvest from the grapes. Or both. president and corporate
director of wine education.
Hemer expects orange
wines to remain a niche va-
riety due to small-scale pro-
duction, higher retail prices
— up to $200 for a premium
bottle — and the nature of
the wine.
“It’s not a wine that’s go-
ing to appeal to the nov-
ice consumer or the main-
stream wine drinker,” Hem- In this Sept. 28, 2017 photo, Workers at Atwater Estate Vineyards
mechanically pick grapes that will be used to make orange, or
er said. “It really takes a skin-fermented wine that will be used to make orange, or skin-
little bit more of, I think, a fermented wine in Burdett, N.Y.
sophisticated palate.” Associated Press

In this Sept. 28, 2017 photo, Atwater Estate Vineyards winemaker
Vinny Alperti inspects freshly picked grapes that will be used to
make orange, or skin-fermented wine in Burdett, N.Y.
Associated Press
duties at Atwater Estate Clay jars are optional.
Vineyards on Seneca Lake. Aliperti has been experi-
“They’re more thoughtful menting with skin ferment-
wines. They’re more medi- ing for years, first by blend-
tative.” ing a bit into traditional
Atwater is among a few chardonnays to change
wineries encircling these up the flavor and more re-
glacier-carved lakes that cently with full-on orange
have added orange to wines. This fall, he ferment-
their mix of whites and reds. ed Vignoles grapes with
The practice dates back their skins in a stainless steel
thousands of years, when vat for a couple of weeks
winemakers in the Cauca- before pressing and then
sus, a region located at the aging them in oak barrels.
border of Europe and Asia, Orange wines account for
would ferment wine in bur- “far less than 1 percent” of
ied clay jars. It has been re- what is handled by South-
vitalized in recent decades ern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits,
by vintners in Italy, Califor- the nation’s largest distribu- This Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017, photo shows orange wine, a Salinia Wine Company 2012 Sonoma
nia and elsewhere looking tor with about a quarter County Chalk Hill Pinot Gris, in New York. Associated Press