Orange wine part II – Where it all started

Magnificent kvevris (or amphoras) decorate Gravner's vineyards.

Where it all started 

Some argue that orange wine is just a whim of fashion. However, archeological findings from Caucasus, or modern day Georgia, locate the origin of wine making to this very area. The excavated red clay vessels with wine residues on them support the notion of orange wine being the first wine ever made, which took place around 6000 B.C. Furthermore today, the very same type of thick walled, cone shaped, red clay vessels, kvevris (or qvevris), are used for fermenting and storing orange wine in Georgia as they were roughly 8000 years ago. Kvevris surely make oak and stainless steel look like whims of fashion!

In addition to their constant success in Georgia, kvevris have increasingly made their way to Europe since 1990’s. Currently, the heartland of kvevri fermented and maturated wine is in North-East Italy, in Collio-Brda area. This region is situated at the border of Italy’s Friuli and Slovenia. Orange wine is also produced in various vessels (plastic, oak, steinless steel) at numerous corners of the world, including Croatia (the neighbour of Italy and Slovenia), as well as other parts of Italy, Sicily, France, Austria, California and Australia. Kvevris, however, are hardly seen outside Georgia and Italian/Slovenian Collio-Brda area.

What is a kvevri?

Kvevri is a cone shaped red clay vessel lined with beeswax. They vary in size from small (100 liters) to enormous (10 000 liters), and are sometimes also called (slightly inaccurately) amphoras. However, kvevris differ from amphoras in that they do not have handles, and are shaped differently. In fact, at a quick glance kvevris appear really impractical: you can’t carry them and they will fall on their side due to their sharp shape when placed on a surface. Why on earth were they made this way 8000 years ago, and still are?

Kvevris (or amforas) buried in the ground at Gravner.

Kvevri is buried in the ground

Kvevri’s odd shape is geniously functional considering the winemaking circumstances thousands of years ago. There was no technology for temperature control or chemicals available for sanitation (not to mention understanding of microbes). A kvevri buried in the ground provides the wine with steadily temperature controlled, cool environment. Soil in the ground remains cool and in relatively constant temperature year round compared to air temperature, which might vary in Mediterranean from blazing hot in the summer to minus degrees Celsius in the winter. Temperature variation and high temperatures are detrimental to wine aromas. Hence, kvevris.

Lacking tannin, white wine is especially susceptible to oxidation and infection. This is why ancient white wine was made with prolonged skin contact to extract tannin, a natural antioxidant and preservative, to the wine. Although tannin shields white (or orange) wine from being spoiled, extended skin contact is not without risks. Especially stalks and pips are plentiful in bitter compounds and in abundance result in unpleasant, astringent wine. The solution is kvevri’s shape. In the start of fermentation most of the skins, pips and stalk material is floating on the grape juice. As fermentation continues, more and more of this cap starts to fall on the bottom of the fermentation vessel. The first to fall down are pips and the stalks; the skins follow later. In the cone shaped kvevri, these most bitter components of the grapes become soon covered with grape skins. In addition, kvevri’s conical shape nicely limits the contact area between the fallen solid material and the wine, and on top of that, allows only minimal contact between the wine and the bitterest part of the grape material. Genious!

Natural wine

Orange wines are produced in variety of styles – with more or less prolonged skin contact; aging the wine for months or years; in all kinds of vessels including kvevris, stainless steel, plastic and oak. However, practically all orange wine producers are minimally interventionistic, meaning e.g. that they rarely add commercial yeasts to their wines or use herbicides or pesticides in their vineyards, and often use only very small amounts of sulphites to protect their wines from spoilage. Some of them are certified organic or biodynamic producers. This minimally interventionistic approach is rather ambiguously referred to as “natural wine”-movement, and due to its broad definition, covers a multitude of more and less adventurous wine making philosophies. Getting acquainted with orange wine will inevitably bring you in contact with natural wine and its various quality levels as well. So, let’s enjoy this adventure together!

Orange wine part I – It’s your time to shine, orange wine

The colour of wine in 2016 is orange.

It’s your time to shine, orange wine

What are the very first signs of Spring? For a Finnish wine lover they are the increasing amount of day light that makes snow glitter, and wine bloggers’ predictions of upcoming wine trends. My contribution to that discussion can be condensed into two words: orange wine.

Orange wine is making its way forward as a part of natural wine movement. Despite of the criticism regarding their durability, natural wine, similar to all natural and organic in the food and beverage world, is very hip at the moment. During the recent years, orange wine has increasingly attracted the interest of dedicated wine lovers. Finland, however, still remains virtually untouched by this style’s influence. My prediction is that in 2016 orange wine arrives in Finland, and becomes more mainstream among wine lovers elsewhere.

This spring, Divine Wine blog celebrates orange wine with a series of stories. I will start with introducing you to the basics of orange wine. Subsequently, a number of divine orange wines will be reviewed and a wine bar specializing in orange wine recommended. But most importantly, we will continue our vinous journey in the border region of Italy, Slovenia and Croatia, the current heartland of orange wine in Europe. There, I’ll take you to visit an iconic orange wine producer, Gravner. What an excitingly orange spring, dear vinous friends! This time I’ll review the basics of orange wine, and next time we’ll progress into more historic layers to understand the phenomenon.

What is orange wine?

The term ”orange wine”, was created by David Harvey, a wine importer, who used to work at Cornelissen in Sicily, Italy. Cornelissen made orange wine but a proper descriptor for the style was lacking. Not really intending to create a new concept, Harvey just described the product as orange wine. Incidentally, however, the wine loving audience found this term handy, and orange wine has remained in wine vocabulary ever since. Still, it should be noted that orange wine is not an official wine term. This is because orange wine is technically white wine.

So, what makes a white wine orange wine? The answer lies in the orange winemaking technique, which is very similar to red winemaking. During making an ordinary white wine, the juice is pressed out of the grapes, and the grape skins and the seeds are discarded right away. Red wine making is quite different, as red grapes are crushed to release the juice but the skins and the seeds are left to macerate in contact with the grape juice created. While this maceration, a.k.a. skin contact, continues, colour, tannin and flavour components are released from the skins and seeds to the juice/wine. How long this skin contact is allowed to continue depends on the grape variety and the style of wine aimed for. For example, very thick skinned grape varieties with abundant tannin should not be macerated for too long to avoid overtly tannic, astringent and austere wine. Typically, the maceration time for red wine is around a couple of days.

Orange wine is made with prolonged skin contact (as red wine is) but of white grapes (as white wine is). Compared with red grapes, white grapes have substantially less colour, tannin and flavor components in their skins, hence orange wine producers may let the maceration continue for ten days, for months, even for years.

This kind of prolonged skin contact releases colour and tannin from the skins along with bitter components from the skins and especially the seeds. The final colour may be anything from deep gold, via amber, to brown. Also, the structure of an orange wine differs profoundly from ordinary white’s structure due to the presence of tannin. Not all grape varieties are suitable for prolonged skin contact. Only a few grapes are able to give birth to balanced orange wines that are refreshingly acidic, yet tannic, and elegantly aromatic.

The characteristics of a variety, as well as the optimal ripeness of the grapes are emphasized by the long maceration time. Should the variety be very aromatic, there is a danger of aromas overwhelming the wine’s balance. If the grapes are too ripe, there simply isn’t enough acidity left to carry the weight of the tannin. Somewhat under-ripe grapes won’t work either: the bitter components released from the seeds as well as the skins will dominate the wine’s flavour, again throwing the wine out of balance. As a style, orange wine is not for the faint hearted. Producers undertaking this challenge need true skill and determination to accomplish a wine that is elegant. Natural wines have received criticism due to the unpredictability of their quality and durability.

Orange wine is not free of this criticism either, although tannin is a natural preservative, hence supporting the idea of making orange wine naturally. Although there are controversial orange wines of unpredictable quality in the market, the majority of orange wines I’ve tasted are a pure delight. The best producers of orange style make wine that competes in elegance and quality with the world’s greatest wines.

P-U-R Beaujolais-Villages 2013, Beaujolais, France

P-U-R Beujolais-Villages 2013.

Wine review

4 of 5 stars

A very good wine

Should you be bored with Beaujolais candy-potions, this wine presents you with an opportunity to taste a different style of Beaujolais. 

True to the nature of Gamay variety, this wine is pale, clear, ruby in colour. However, the nose is a different story. From a Beaujolais, I would ordinarily expect some fresh banana and candy-like strawberry aromas due to carbonic maceration but these are non-existent. The surprisingly multifaceted, medium intensity aroma profile is first accentuated by flowers followed by red fresh berries and finally some farmyard funk. Violets, red cherries, raspberries and cranberries form a fresh scenery that is elegantly intertwined with a backdrop of subtle animalistic depth.

On the palate, high acidity and abundant fruit depict the first strike. Very fine grained, light tannins and crisp acidity generate a light and etherial mouthfeel. Although Gamay usually gives low-tannin wines, in this case these light tannins are clearly perceptible. In tandem with vivid acidity, they enjoyably balance the complex red fruit and animalistic aromas of the mid-palate. Finishing with a medium length cranberry aftertaste, this wine leaves a pleasant impression.

Vibrant, fruity and fresh, this Beaujolais is best enjoyed now or during the next few years. Its light, acidic nature invites vegetable based dishes like grilled zucchini. Fish and light meat dishes could also be paired successfully with this light, acidic, floral red wine.

A graceful example of Beaujolais-Villages natural wine. 

Info in a nutshell

Price examples:

USD 14 at Brooklynwineexchange.com

EUR 7.50 per glass and 47.50 per bottle at Gastropub Tuulensuu, Tampere, Finland

Country and region: France, Beaujolais, Beaujolais-Villages

Grape: Gamay 100%

Alc vol: 10,5%

Producer: Product Unique Rebelle, P-U-R

Background

P-U-R (Product Unique Rebelle) is a negociant owning a few hectares of vineyards and buying the rest of their grapes from organic farmers. Adhering to strictly natural winemaking style for P-U-R doesn’t mean taking risks in terms of wine faults. High quality is not a laughing matter to P-U-R, although they sure like to make rebellious fun of wine world phenomena. P-U-R’s Finnish importer told me that a while ago P-U-R aptly placed a banana smelling sticker on their Beaujolais wine’s label as a comment on the direction taken by aromatic development of wines in the area. In my opinion, an aromatically versatile, interesting and pleasant wine like P-U-R Beaujolais-Villages is a statement on the subject in itself.

Andréa Calek Chatons de Garde 2012, Ardeche, France

Chatons de Garde 2012.

Wine review

4 of 5 stars

A very good wine

The colour is clear, medium ruby with a slight tint of purple. Tearing in the glass hints towards high alcohol content. The nose is aromatically multifaceted with pronounced intensity. There are autumnal ripe dark berries and fruits: cherries and cassis, as well as fresh and dried plums. Animalistic aroma components of delicate sweat and leather are also present. Fallen leaves and black pepper complete the bouquet. An image of Rhone vineyard landscape glowing in the gold of autumn sun forms in my mind.

On the palate the first strike is full bodied, fruity, and round. However, the mid palate reveals high acidity, high alcohol and great deal of tannin. The bold acid structure is well in balance with the fruitiness. Tannins are mouth filling and velvety. They can be felt on the tip and the sides of the tongue the most. The aromas on the palate follow the impressions of the nose. The fruity after taste is long and pleasant.

This wine would be beautifully complemented by an aromatic game stew. However, it would work just fine with a good steak and dark sauce, or mixed grill and vegetables.

A well integrated, balanced wine. I warmly recommend.  

Info in a nutshell

Price examples: 

USD 26.99 per bottle at Union Square Wines

EUR 49.50 per bottle at GastropubTuulensuu, Tampere, Finland

Country and region: France, Ardèche, Alba la Romaine

Grape: Syrah 100%

Producer: Andréa Calek

Background

Andrea Calek was born in former Czechoslovakia and currently lives and works as a winemaker in Ardéche, France. You could call him a bit of a bohemian of the  wine making world, I guess, since he makes wine with a hard core natural wine philosophy and lives in a trailer close to his five hectare vineyards.

He came to France in the end of the 80’s, making his way from behind the iron curtain, which proved to be a challenge. The story involves a military service in Czechoslovakia, an especially lucky opportunity to make a trip to France, falling for France, a doctor’s certificate as an attempt to get discharged from the army, which didn’t work, a return to Czechoslovakia and military service, and finally finding love in France, which gave Calek finally an opportunity to return. As a delightful result of his all this, we now have a chance to enjoy the fruits of his painstaking natural wine production.   

Calek aims at tending to the vineyards and vinifying the wines so that the outcome would be a seamlessly expressive reflection of the grape variety and the terroir. Everything that might be considered manipulating the wine is avoided. Hence, no new oak, no commercial yeasts – you get the picture. Having tasted Chatons de Garde (eng. Kittens patrolling), (and having ordered a second glass right away), I have to say that Syrah is downright glowing in this wine. Calek’s products speak for themselves.