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Orange wine, an original organic wine tracing back to the origins of the first wines

Also known as amber wine, orange wine is a distinctive type of wine worth exploring. Still relatively little known, it is considered the fourth colour of wine, after red, white and rosé.

As a lover of distinctive wines and the places they come from, Gérard Bertrand wants to bring this historic wine back into favour, notably with Orange Gold, an certified organic orange wine with lovely freshness, light tannins and subtle natural acidity.

Discover Gérard Bertrand Orange Gold organic wine

What is orange wine?

Put simply, orange wine is a white wine made like a red wine. Like white wine, orange wine is made from white grapes.

What makes orange wine production distinctive is that the grape juice remains in contact with the skins, seeds and stems (the framework of the bunch) for a period of time. During this maceration, the tannins become concentrated and the characteristic amber-yellow colour of orange wine develops. Like other types of wine, orange wine can be produced using conventional, organic or biodynamic farming methods (What is organic wine? / What is biodynamic wine?).

The AB and Demeter labels make it easy to identify wines that are more environmentally friendly. These marks of quality are awarded following certification and inspection by independent bodies, and clearly identify wines that meet the standards of organic and biodynamic farming.

Discover all our orange wines.

Gérard Bertrand Orange Gold

The origins of orange wine

A little-known fact is that orange wine dates back to the very origins of wine. The first wines, which were probably orange wines, were made in the Caucasus (the region between Europe and Asia, between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea) over 8,000 years ago.

The oldest traces of winemaking are found in Georgia, the birthplace of viticulture. Georgians left white wines to macerate and age in buried amphorae. This brief historical note helps dispel a common misconception: neither the Romans nor the Greeks invented wine.

What are the qualities of an orange wine?

qualities of an orange wine

What are the qualities of an orange wine?

Orange wine is a wine of character, with tannins and pronounced aromas—especially when produced using organic or biodynamic farming methods. Although each orange wine has its own characteristics, orange wines stand out for their subtle, complex structure, balanced by a lovely presence of tannins.

Its colour is bright, ranging from pale yellow to amber. One of the main characteristics of orange wine is its freshness and gentle acidity. Orange wine is a very dry wine, so sugar and alcohol do not dominate. As a tannic wine, it can accompany an entire meal, from aperitif to dessert. Its distinctive taste may surprise lovers of more ‘classic’ wines—in a good way.

Compared with white wine (discover the Gérard Bertrand white wine collection), the wine colour it most closely resembles, orange wine has more powerful aromas while being easier to digest. Despite their lovely natural acidity, orange wines are less acidic than white wines. Finally, thanks to their higher tannin levels, orange wines have good ageing potential.

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