Wine Enjoyment Guide: Greek Orange Wines
By Yiannis Karakasis MW

We continue the Enjoyment Guide that we started in the previous months with a new style of wine, or to put it more correctly, with one of the oldest styles of wine that has made a dynamic comeback in the last about 20 years. Orange wines or skin contact wines, which are essentially white wines made with red winemaking techniques. The result (since the color is given by the skins in the wine) is an amber, orange wine. (In the same category are also included red-skinned varieties like Pinot Grigio and our own Moschofilero, which give a rosé wine when in contact with the skins).

A Bit of History
Although the cradle of orange wines is considered to be Georgia, with centuries of winemaking tradition in huge terracotta vessels called qvevris, it took two Slovenian-Italians from Friuli, Gravner and Radikon, to highlight them. They were the catalysts of a lost identity. This happened in the mid-90s, with Gravner keeping his whites with 12 days of skin contact and the hard-core Radikon almost 3 months.

Why is skin contact applied?
The rationale behind skin contact is to produce a wine with more structure and tannins, which will age well.

Vinification
The hue of orange depends on the variety, the duration of extraction, and naturally whether the management is oxidative or not. Many technical issues that I apologize for mentioning, just in case. There are also other important points, such as whether to include the stems or not, as well as issues of temperature and yeast selection.
More specifically, Josko Gravner argues that to get the right aromas, one should not control the temperature as in classic winemaking that goes to 12-14 degrees, nor inoculate with commercial yeasts. He might know a thing or two, since he's considered the guru of orange wines.

The Taste
For someone who has tasted usual aromatic white wines or even wines in the style of Santorini and other up-and-coming regions, an orange wine is a surprise. And an explosion. An Exocet missile directed at the heart of a ship sailing carelessly on its usual route. It's a boosted white wine, with tannins and citrus peel aromas along with botanical hints. When properly made, they are not oxidized.

In Greece
In our country, we have a relative tradition of orange wines, mostly however in an oxidative style. Specifically, Santorini's Brousko, where the grapes stayed in the canavas for up to 4 days before being pressed, resulting in an orange wine with tannins and oxidation. In Crete, another wine appears as orange, the Marouvas, but it's also a result of oxidation, starting as a red wine. Discussing with the excellent winemaker of Tetramythos, Panagiotis Papagiannopoulos, he suggests that in the region of Aigialeia, the winemaking of Roditis, a red-skinned variety, followed the principles of orange wines, with the difference that aging was done in oak barrels!

Enjoyment
To be consistent with the article, I owe you some tips for the greater enjoyment of these wines. Note then:
  • Enjoy them relatively cool. The final serving temperature depends on how intense the wines are.
  • Decanting is recommended, as most are bottled unfiltered.
  • Personally, I use large glasses to bring out their full potential. Bordeaux or Burgundy.
  • One of the strong points of orange wines is food and wine pairings. Pay attention to the following:
    Ethnic foods with strong spices, creamy risottos or pastas, oven-roasted lamb (almost lick-your-fingers good), porchetta or simply a pork chop, and of course, cheeses. This orange trove has it all.
The Wines
Here follows a indicative list:Soft Orange
Aoton Savatiano: An orange wine with a variation of the skin contact method
Mylonas Naked Truth Savatiano: 15 days skin contact
Troupis Hoof and Lur Moschofilero: More of a rosé than orange, as the variety is red-skinnedOrange with a touch of sulfites
Garalis Terra Ambera Muscat of Alexandria: 8 days skin contact
Tetramythos Roditis Orange: 21 days skin contact, aged in neutral barrels for 6 months
Patoinos Orange Assyrtiko: 7 days skin contact
Karamolegos Mystirio Assyrtiko: 21 days skin contact
Markogianni Orange Roditis
Papargyriou Le Vigneron Grec Assyrtiko with Malagousia stems: 8 days skin contact
Sant’Or Santameriana Orange: 20 days skin contact, 6 months in a ceramic egg
Hatzivariti Ni Roditis/Malagousia: 30 days skin contactOrange without sulfites
Anatolikos Orange Malagousia/Assyrtiko: 270 days skin contact
Georgas Black Label Retsina Savatiano: 7 days skin contact
Douloufakis Vidiano Amphora: 90 days skin contact
Kamara Pure Nimbus Ritinitis Assyrtiko: 6 days skin contact
Kontozisis A-GRAFO Roditis: 25 days skin contact
Ligas Roditis Barrique
Nikolou Savatiano Yellow: 20 days skin contact, aged in oak and acacia barrels
Tatsis Roditis Orange: 7 days skin contact
Petrakopoulos Orange Zakynthino
Sklavos Metagitnion Vostilidi