If you’ve spent any time around modern wine lists or natural wine shops lately, you’ve probably heard the term orange wine. Despite the name, orange wine isn’t made from oranges. Instead, it’s a style of wine made from white grapes using red-wine techniques, resulting in a beautiful amber or copper color and a complex, textured flavor profile.

Orange wine has become increasingly popular among wine lovers who appreciate minimal-intervention winemaking, unique textures, and food-friendly wines. But what exactly makes orange wine different from other white wines?

To understand orange wine, it helps to start with how wine is normally made—and how orange wine breaks those rules.

The process of making orange wine is relatively simple but requires patience and careful attention. Here’s how it typically works.

Orange wine begins with white grape varieties such as Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris, or Chardonnay.

Many producers harvest these grapes slightly earlier than they might for traditional white wine. Earlier harvests help preserve natural acidity, which keeps the wine fresh and balanced despite the extra texture gained from skin contact.

After harvest, the grapes are gently crushed to release the juice. Unlike traditional white wine production, the juice is not separated from the skins right away.

Instead, the grape skins remain in contact with the juice during fermentation, ranging from days to weeks. This is the step that gives orange wine its distinctive color and structure.

The crushed grapes—juice, skins, and sometimes stems—are placed in fermentation vessels such as stainless steel tanks, neutral oak barrels, or concrete vessels.

As fermentation begins, the yeast converts sugar into alcohol while the skins release color pigment, tannins, aromatic, and texture.

Depending on the winemaker’s approach, the skins may remain in contact with the juice for anywhere from a few days to several weeks. Shorter macerations produce lighter, more delicate orange wines, while longer fermentations can create deeper color and stronger tannin structure.

Many orange wines are produced using native yeast fermentation, meaning the winemaker allows naturally occurring yeast from the vineyard and winery environment to kick off fermentation.

Native yeast can add complexity and subtle differences in aroma and flavor that reflect the vineyard’s natural microbiology.

This approach is common at Pali Wine Co. and among producers who practice minimal-intervention winemaking.

After fermentation, orange wines are often aged in neutral vessels such as used oak barrels or stainless steel tanks

Because these vessels do not add strong flavors like new oak does, they allow the wine’s natural characteristics—fruit, florals, spice, and texture—to remain the focus.

During aging, the wine continues to develop complexity and integration.

Many orange wines are bottled with minimal processing. This can include little or no filtration, fining agents, and minimal additions of sulfur.

As a result, some orange wines may appear slightly hazy or cloudy, which is perfectly natural and often contributes to a fuller mouthfeel.

Orange wines offers a flavor experience that sits somewhere between white and red wine.

Common tasting notes may include citrus peel, dried apricot, stone fruits, spun honey, and floral aromatics like jasmine or honeysuckle.

Because of the skin contact, orange wines often have more texture and structure than traditional white wines, making them excellent partners for a wide range of foods.

One of the reasons orange wine has become so popular is its versatility at the table.

The combination of bright acidity, aromatics, and gentle tannins allows the wine to pair beautifully with dishes that can be challenging for traditional white wines.

Orange wines pair especially well with seafood dishes, roasted vegetables, Mediterranean cuisine, or even spicy foods!

Orange wines offer a balance of freshness and structure, allowing them to handle bold flavors while still feeling refreshing.