I am not always one for the current fad and right now Orange wines, or Amber wines, and natural wines are the in thing. Mind you they have been ‘in’ for quite a while, so perhaps they are here to stay.
For those of you who are not yet in the know, an Orange (or Amber wine) is a white wine fermented on the skins – indeed it can also be called skin-contact wine or skin-macerated wine. It is the skins, even of white grapes, that impart the orange/amber colour and is considered a non interventionist style of winemaking. Such winemaking can appear to be a fad, or new idea, but is actually thousands of years old and how wine was made in ancient times.
Orange wines are becoming quite mainstream and easier to buy. In fact an interesting example from Romania came my way recently. I thought it was an excellent way in to appreciating this style of wine, so I thought that I would share it with you.
Sketch wine map of Romania – click for a larger view – non watermarked PDF versions are available by agreement.
Asda Orange Natural Wine
Cramele Recaș
Timișoara
Romania
Recaș Cellar is near Timișoara in the far west of Romania and is run by Englishman Philip Cox who has lived in the country since 1992. He had actually started out as the Romanian importer of Heineken, which was very successful. However he was unable to change the currency into something more useful, so hit upon a scheme of producing wine in Romania that he could export for hard currency. To this end he and some partners bought the local state cooperative in 1999.
Originally they started with 600 hectares and now farm around 1000, which makes them a very big player in Romania, where many of the producers are much smaller estates. Legend has it that Bacchus spent his childhood in this region and there is evidence of grape growing here going back to Roman times and vineyards were thriving here in 1447, so the area’s potential has long been recognised.
Philip generally aims to make clean, well made, fruit driven wines that sell and as such he provides a perfect introduction to modern Romanian wines. What’s more they are widely available in the UK under a plethora of labels including Bradshaw and Wine Atlas in Asda, Calusari, Sanziana and the widely seen Paparuda amongst many, many others.
Philip Cox, Commercial Director, Cramele Recaș.This particular wine is somewhat different though and as you can see from the name of the wine, this is not only an Orange wine, but is also a Natural wine. Most definitions of natural wine include some or all of the following:
Hand-picked, organically or biodynamically grown grapes. Low-yielding vineyards. No added sugars, no foreign yeasts. No fining or filtration. No adjustments for acidity. No other additives for mouth-feel, colour, etc. No micro-oxygenation or reverse osmosis. Little or no added sulphites.
It’s an organic – and vegan – blend of Fetească Alba, Tămâioasă Românească (a local Muscat grape), Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, all fermented on the skins using the indigenous yeast in a spontaneous fermentation.
The colour is pale orange marmalade, while the nose displays peach skin, grape skin, raisin and cider-like notes together with honey, herbs, smoke and a note of creamy lees.
The palate has a lovely tangy acidity with orange and ripe peach as well as the richer flavours of cinder toffee and nuts. There is good freshness here, before the tannins from the skins deliver an attractive, grainy, bitter tannin quality to the finish, while the lees ageing shows in a lovely bready, almost Peshwari naan sort of character.
This is not the most complex Orange wine or Natural wine, but it is a very drinkable example. I tasted it together with one of my WSET Level 2 classes and it met with broad approval. It’s a complete bargain, makes a perfect introduction to the style and is very food friendly. I think it would be especially good with a selection of cheeses – 87/100 points.
Available in the UK from Asda at £6.00 per bottle.
Quentin Sadler's Wine Page 