A golden age of orange wine

Skin-macerated white wine, also known as orange wine because of the style’s tendency to take on a citrine hue, has been popular in the natural-wine zeitgeist for well more than a decade. It’s become more mainstream in recent years, regularly flirting with trendy status.

As with most trends — particularly in drinking and dining — the more steam it gathers, the more haters gather to dismiss it.

We argue that this style of winemaking has moved beyond trend and has fully established itself in the canon of winemaking. And we are luckier for it; there is a greater range of wine options than ever before, and orange wines run the gamut from everyday value drinkers to special splurges.

Wines that are funky for the sake of funk are not our jam. We like a challenging wine, but it still needs to be balanced and soundly made to be delicious.

There is a whole realm of texture, aromatics and structural balance that has been revealed by winemakers willing to explore white wine fermented with the grape skins. And it is a true spectrum: maceration can be a matter of hours, days or months. Every white grape offers something different in regards to color, flavor and grip.

Here are four options we recommend not just because they’re orange wines, but because they’re simply good.

Gulp Hablo Orange (250ml can)

Gulp Hablo Orange is a Spanish offering made from equal parts verdejo and sauvignon blanc that spends roughly a week on the skins. With primary notes of citrus peel and white tea, this is a drier and less opulent skin-contact wine with mellow tannins.

While Gulp may not be overly complex, it is refreshing and easy to enjoy straight from the can. The winery also packages this varietal in a 1-liter bottle, but the canned, single-serving format is ideal for sampling the style. If you like it, the cans are also convenient for future outdoor spring activities. Wine that is certified as biodynamic is exceptional to find at this price (around $6 a can).

Luna Duna Naranjo

This Argentine delight is responsibly-made (organic farming and minimal intervention), under $20 and serves as an approachable introduction to orange wine. This wine tastes like spring, with white flowers and juicy apricots dominating the profile. Made mostly from Moscatel Rosado with a touch of Criolla Blanca, Luna Duna Naranjo spends 10 days on the skins. It’s also available in 1-liter bottles, the perfect size for entertaining.

Fossil & Fawn Lightwave 2023

We admire the duo behind Fossil & Fawn for making wine that is equal parts classic Oregon and experimental fun. They describe Lightwave as “diet” orange wine, because it dips just a toe into the macerated style. The juice comes from a combination of direct-pressed pinot gris and skin-macerated muscat and riesling. The resulting wine is floral and tropical without being a hammer to the head, finishing on a light and juicy note.

Domaine Marcel Deiss Le Jeu des Verts 2023

This Domaine Marcell Deiss wine is our biggest splurge of the lineup (around $50-$60), but one we believe has the power to change many minds about skin-contact wines. It’s worth seeking out.

Winemaker Mathieu Deiss describes the skin maceration on this wine as motivated more by balance and expression of terroir, not an effort to follow a trend. Made from a field blend of riesling, pinot noir and gewürztraminer that spends three weeks fermenting on the skins, this wine is mind-blowingly delicious and surprisingly food versatile. For us, the 2023 Jeu des Verts paired perfectly with lamb kofta and the variety of pickled and spiced vegetables alongside it.