Meininger's: SimonWoolf on Orange Wines

As linked in WineTerroirist, SimonWoolf has an interesting article:
SimonWoolf:OrangeWines
who argues that orange wines are here to stay.

He is using the term "orange" wine in the context that I do, any skin-contact white, whether made in an oxidative style like Gravner/Radikon, or made in a reductive style, like ForlornHope or JimCowan.
He, of course, connects orange wines to the ancient ways used in Georgian wines and bills it as a return to ancient winemaking and what makes it unique.

I found this quote particularly of note:

Despite the cries of naysayers that the orange wine technique obscures both variety and terroir, many of the style’s most enthusiastic protagonists insist the exact opposite is true. “The terroir is in the skins,” says biodynamics and cold climate viticulture pioneer Deirdre Heekin of La Garagista.

I guess I'd call BS on this statement. My one criticism of orange wines is that it obscures varietal character and terroir, which casts me firmly in the naysayer camp, I guess.
The skin-contact whites I've liked the most are the ones that have either limited skin-contact that allows the varietal character to also show. Or have been blends of skin-contact whites and conventional crush whites. Like SamBilbro's Cortese. But if the skin-contact is lengthy, I find the phenolic/resiny pretty much dominates the wine.
As for terroir, I've yet to pick up any identifiable terroir in any orange wines. At least terroir as I recognize it. I think Lodi has a fairly distinctive terroir. Yet I've yet to pick up any Lodi terroir in MattRorick's oranges, struggle as I might.

Another quote that caught my eye was:

Non-aromatic white varieties such as Ribolla Gialla, Welschriesling or Trebbiano di Toscana have limited range when vinified as conventional white wines. They’re varieties that lack a strong fruit profile or character – neutral would be kind.

Again, I would quibble with this. I would hardly describe RibollaGiallo as neutral in character. In fact, some of the orange wines I've liked the best are made from aromatic varieties like SauvBlanc, Viognier, Gruner, and Malvasia.

Another quote:

Fashion may be shining a spotlight on this style at the moment, but it would be mistaken to lump orange wines together with other supposedly on-trend novelties such as blue or aromatised wines. Skin fermenting white grapes to produce orange wine is arguably one of the most ancient methods of winemaking in existence, increasingly taking its place among the holy trinity of white, red and rosé. A great deal of its adoption in winemaking circles is premeditated on the grounds of expedience and the wish to express grape rather than human hand.

Again, I would argue this point. To me, most orange wines are more an expression of the winemaking rather than the grape.
I think orange wines will remain a niche wine and will never take their place alongside the holy triumvirate of "white/rose/red" as Simon contends. The day I see a Rombauer orange Chard, then I will stand corrected.

Anyway, an interesting read even if I don't agree totally w/ Simon.
Tom

I can't claim to have tasted a ton of orange wines, but I think the perception of orange wines desperately needs a paradigm shift, and this is why: do you find much red wine Pinot Noir character in a PN Blanc de Noirs, or vice versa?

Juice character and skin character are very different, and naturally also reflect terroir differently.

Sure it could be that there just isn't the same kind of (poly)phenolic character true to variety in white and gray grapes, but given all we know about the black varieties, I find this extremely unlikely. More likely in my mind is just that way more data is required to confirm this hypothesis.

I am not a big fan of month(s)-long macerations as the wines rarely end up harmonious. I don't really understand the push for extreme macerations (even given the georgian traditions) as very few red wines are macerated for more than a few weeks.

I've really liked most if not all orange wines with short macerations that I've tried, but I do hope so many producers weren't so so2phobic. I'm really starting to get fed up with that seemingly ubiquitous cider note.

Agree with Timo that I see no particular reason why "white" grapes should lose something from skin contact, while "red" grapes gain from it. (And what about the pink grapes like Pinot Gris?) I think it is just a question of getting used to orange wines to be able to fully appreciate the differences between them. I won't pretend to be at that point yet, but already I am able to differentiate better than I did initially.

I would also like to make the point that it is the degree of extraction that gives orange wine its orangeness. Time of skin contact is but one factor in that, and I am not even sure it is the most important. On the other hand, the amount of pumping-over, punching down and stirring is definitely of significance.

If, after the fermentation, you just let the skins sit in the pointy bottom of a clay vessel, that time is not going contribute much in terms of extraction. I first realised this with COS Pithos Rosso, which is left on its skins for several months without being particularly tannic.

Archive.

Well I am in! Orange wines starting to show up in Edmonton AB so gonna fork out a few dollars on the Vazisubani Rkatsiteli from Georgia.