Orange You Glad…

What’s medium bodied, goes with pretty much everything and orange all over? A white wine treated like it’s red of course. Enter: orange wine.

So ok, orange wine isn’t exactly a new phenomenon in the wine world. In fact, it’s nothing close to new as it’s been around for centuries (it’s just white wine with its skins left on during maceration), but only in the last 10 years or so have the hipster somms and natural wine nerds glommed on to this deeply hued white. While the tangerine-tinged stuff has been sweeping the mean streets of NYC since the early aughts, topping the charts of the nameliest wine lists in the land, it’s still holding strong as it trickles down to our cities and towns west of the great Hudson. In fact, you’re hard pressed to dine at a top rated new restaurant anywhere without brushing elbows with at least one of these orange beauties.

And you know what? I’m not mad at ‘em. Nope. Hipster swirling or not, I don’t see orange wine as a short-lived trend, it’s white wine after all. What’s not to love? It’s delicious, usually terroir-driven, sunset-hued wine. So what’s so great about leaving the skins on apart from the pretty colors that turn out? Turns out, those skins can impart some interesting qualities like tannins, acid and beautiful aromas of orange peel and pith, citrus, flowers and honey. It’s could be the answer to what follows up the rosé rage, though it’s quite the opposite of rosé- instead of red grapes sacrificing their skins for a pretty pink pigment and a lighter bodied juice, these white grapes don’t lose immediately their cozy jackets, reaping bolder bodies.

If you haven’t heard of this, you might wonder why. The answer is because this orange crush will likely never be a mainstream movement. We’ve gotten so used to clean, clear and sparkly bright whites in this country, that anything darker and especially dark orange might be deemed as imperfect or heaven forbid, dirty, which is why most winemakers get those skins off lickety split. I love a little dirty orange in my glass especially when that means it’s full of flowers and perfumey wild herbs. Orange wine drinks like a hot summer day- something I gladly welcome in the dog days of winter but is quite suitable to drink year round. It can be your perfect little glass of wine- heartier than most whites but still clean and fresh. Perfect with fish or a roast chicken.

I recently had two beautiful bottles of orange wine at two of the DC dining scene’s shining stars. I took my foodie brother and his super foodie wife to the über foodie and critic’s darling, Rose’s Luxury and after waiting 3 1/2 hours for a table which I can honestly say, I have never done, I had more than high expectations for this joint. The truth is, we were convinced every bite and sip we took in the place was thoroughly worth that wait. The service is excellent and crazy friendly, I felt like I was in Austin for a minute, which is always a welcome feeling. The food is fun, delicious and experimental (popcorn soup anyone?) without being annoying. You get the sense that chef Aaron Silverman is just having a blast- as it should be. It’s real and authentic, and cozy and intimate, and delicious- enough adjectives? In short, the hype is well deserved. To boot, your receipt reads like your best friend’s note passed across the classroom with item lines like, “1 Side of Awesome”. And the vino- well let’s just say that the wine list is so smart, well-stacked, and fun, I honestly felt the urge to crumple it up and eat it. But back to the orange vino on the table. The bottle that we partook of at Rose’s was from a monastery in Lazio, made by the hands of Sisters under the guidance of a legend- it was beautifully feminine with lots of wild flowers and herbs, honeyed and hearty.

What We Drank:

Monastero Suore Cistercensi “Coenobium Ruscum Bianco”, IGT ’11
-This beauty is a bold blend of Trebbiano, Malvasia and Verdichio- it paired well with pretty much everything we ate. I recommend it with anything short of a stick to your ribs beef dish.
-Made in a monastery by the Sisters of the Cistercian Order, this wine is shepherded by master winemaker Paolo Bea’s son, Giampiero, a master in his own right. These guys have been churning out some of the wildest and tastiest juice with killer labels to boot for decades. Read all about the family in Neal Rosenthal’s compelling “Reflections of a Wine Merchant”- the book that turned me from a drinker of wine to a student (and an even heartier drinker) of wine. Their juice is not for the faint of heart, or for the daintiest of palates, it’s hearty and packed with loads natural acidity, a hint of nuttiness and plenty of citrus and honey. The soil at the monastery is volcanic so drink the volcano, and savor its mineral divinity.

CHECK IT: get it here for $27 . A crazy deal that will float you and your pals’ boats.

On to the next orange adventure: last night, my local dining group of gals and I sampled the fare at DC’s The Red Hen. Like at Rose’s, the food also lived up to its hype although it is less playful here than at Rose’s. The Red Hen is solid and delicious. The char-grilled octopus, smoked ricotta crostini, black ink squid linguine with a kick, and toasted hazelnut-crusted custard were the standouts. The service was excellent and the wine, again, big win on the orange wine front.

What We Drank:

Vei Di Romans Pinot Grigio, Friuli, Italy, ’12
One of the prettiest little wines I’ve had in a long while. Like drinking a bouquet of fresh flowers doused with a hint of perfume and a juicy bite of acid- truly a beautiful food wine and pretty enough to savor on its own.
-Made with 100% Pinot Grigio, this wine allows the grape to shine instead of diluting it to an expected taste, it’s loaded with lime and lemon citrus, floral, and pretty as a picture.
-Drink this with fish, pasta, lean meats and veggies, it’s heaven with some smoked ricotta crostini topped with brown butter balsamic and truffled honey- one of my favorite Red Hen dishes. Seriously, think about those ingredients- nirvana on a piece of toast.

CHECK IT: Get it here for $35. This one is pretty enough to impress even your most hipster-wary pals, they will quickly jump on the orange wine bandwagon.

Orange Wines can be tough to find but you’re sure to spot them on any wine list that is in-the-know and your trusted wine purveyor should have a handful of great orange wines to recommend. Once pretty much relegated to Italy, Slovenia and Georgia, orange wine can now be found all over the globe.

Some orange-tastic favorites:

Old World:
Paolo Bea’s Umbria Bianco Arboreus ’09: like a boss, $58
Radikon Pinot Grigio ’10: kick ass, tried and true, $40
Bodegas Bernabé Tinajas de la Mata ’11: awesome acid and zesty as hell, $25

New World:
Scholium Project’s Prince in His Caves ’11: wacky and out there just like its winemaker, Abe Schoener, $45
Wind Gap Windsor Oaks Pinot Gris ’11: ballsy but beautiful, $34
Big Table Farm “Wirtz Vineyard” Yamhill-Carlton Pinot Gris ’11, pretty and perfect with fish, $22

Cin Cin and Enjoy!

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