Orange Wine, Explained: A Guide for the Curious

You’ve spotted it on a wine list, seen a golden glass at the next table, or heard someone order a “skin-contact white”. Welcome to orange wine: a style that can be fresh and delicate, savoury and textured, or somewhere wonderfully in between.

First things first: it isn’t made from oranges.

Orange wine is made from white grapes. The difference is how those grapes become wine.

What makes it orange?

For most white wines, the grapes are pressed and the juice is separated from the skins before fermentation. For orange wine, the juice spends time with the grape skins during fermentation, borrowing a technique more commonly associated with red winemaking.

That skin contact brings colour, flavour and tannin into the wine. Depending on the grapes and how it’s made, the result might be pale gold, deep amber or coppery orange.

You’ll often hear “orange wine” and “skin-contact white” used interchangeably. Think of them as useful signposts rather than a promise that every bottle will taste alike.

What does orange wine taste like?

There isn’t one orange-wine flavour. Some bottles are light, floral and citrusy. Others lean towards dried apricot, orange peel, black tea, nuts or savoury herbs.

The biggest surprise for a beginner is often the texture. Skin contact can introduce tannin: that gently drying, slightly grippy feeling you get from strong black tea. If you’re used to crisp, smooth whites, it’s a new sensation, but not necessarily an intense one.

And despite those fruity aromas, many orange wines are dry rather than sweet.

Is orange wine the same as natural wine?

Not quite. Orange wine describes a winemaking technique. Natural wine generally describes an approach to growing grapes and making wine with minimal intervention.

There’s plenty of overlap, which is why you’ll often find them on the same shelves. But an orange wine isn’t automatically natural, organic, cloudy or funky. Plenty are clean, bright and beautifully precise.

An old idea, not a new invention

Orange wine might feel like a recent discovery, but fermenting white grapes with their skins has a long history. Georgia is particularly associated with the tradition, including wines made in large earthenware vessels called qvevri.

Today, producers around the world explore the style, using different grapes, vessels and lengths of skin contact.

How should you drink it?

Start chilled, but not ice-cold. A little time in the glass can help its aromas and texture open up. If it feels muted straight from the fridge, give it a few minutes and try again.

Food is a very good idea, too. Orange wine’s combination of freshness and texture can work beautifully with roast chicken, grilled vegetables, hard cheeses and dishes with fragrant spices. The pairing depends on the bottle, but it’s a rewarding style to bring to the dinner table.

Where should a beginner start?

Ask for something fresh, approachable and lightly grippy. A wine with gentler skin contact can be an easy introduction before you explore richer, more tannic examples.

Three orange wines to get to know

Ready to put something in your glass? These three bottles from the SPÖN shelves offer different ways into skin-contact wine, from delicate and floral to citrusy and richly textured.

2025 Italian Plastic Golden

Made by Sam Berketa in the Adelaide Hills from Semillon and Gewürztraminer, Golden brings amber colour, plenty of texture and a tart grapefruit character. If you’re curious about the extra dimension that grape skins bring to a white wine, this is a lovely bottle to explore.

Explore 2025 Italian Plastic Golden.

2024 Doom Juice Skins

A light, smooth introduction with plenty going on. This Riverland blend brings together Zibibbo, Vermentino, Riesling and White Frontignac, crushed and co-fermented in an open-top concrete vat. Expect ginger, hazelnut, lemon zest and agave: a good reminder that orange wine can be expressive without feeling heavy.

Explore 2024 Doom Juice Skins.

2024 Sabi Wabi 'Sugi' Semillon

For the delicate side of orange wine, start here. This organically grown Hunter Valley Semillon is fermented on skins, bringing together white flowers, lemon myrtle and a light, aromatic texture. A gentle way to discover that skin contact doesn’t have to mean big, bold or confronting.

Explore 2024 Sabi Wabi 'Sugi' Semillon.

At SPÖN, our advice is simple: don’t get too caught up in the colour or the terminology. Tell us what you usually enjoy drinking, and we can help you find a starting point.

You don’t need to become an orange-wine person. You just need a little curiosity, a glass, and a bottle worth getting to know.