What is an Orange Wine?
Orange wine is something entirely different. Orange wine is a type of white wine made by leaving the grape skins and seeds in contact with the juice, creating a deep orange-hued finished product.
How is it made?
Orange wines are the product of vinifying white grapes the way red wine is normally made. Instead of removing skins after grapes are pressed (as is standard for whites), the juice, called must, is fermented in contact with skins. The must then colours the juice and gives it a tannic structure and a bitterness similar to a red wine. They end up becoming a bolder, more savoury version of the wine from the same white grape.
What does it taste like?
Orange wines can be a little bit of a shock at first to anyone used to clear, pale-coloured, fruity white wines. Orange or amber wines tend not to be fruity but are complex, layered and structured, often with notes of dried fruit, herbs and spices, tea and a savoury umami quality. Don’t think about them as white wines but as a new style altogether.
How should it be served?
As with all wines, the flavours in orange wines are subtler when chilled and become more expressive as they warm up. If it is hot outside you will want them to be chilled and refreshing - so 10°C would be best; however, they are best served slightly warmer than a classic white and slightly cooler than a red so around 12.8°C.
Which foods pair best with Orange Wines?
Orange wines are bold and complex, and pair perfectly with foods like mushrooms, cheeses, asparagus and fennel, strong spices and nut flavours - as well as with tricky foods such as garlic and pickled foodstuffs! They’re especially great at pairing with dishes whose flavours might better match a white wine but require the fuller body of a red.
2 products
2023 Domaine des Tourelles Skin
Regular price £21.99An impressive take on an orange wine from one of Lebanon's oldest wineries. The average age of the vines are 150 years old! Produced from Merweh, an indigenous Lebanese grape variety, given a dose of skin contact followed by maturation in qvevri, this is something different and with real character.
Tasting Notes
Colour
Light amber in colour
Nose
The nose rises up out to the glass to greet, with waves of spice, sweet clementine-infused fruit, and what can only be described as a sense of warmth.
Palate
The palate opens up fresh and breezy, with the ripe apple and orange fruit coming through to fill up the mid-palate. While nothing like as grippy as some orange wine there's also a pleasing hit of tannins, helping give the wine real structure and definition.
Production
The grapes were harvested in October. 100% manually with intensive selection in 20kg boxes. Several rounds are needed to obtain perfect ripeness. Fermented with indigenous yeasts in 19th-century made Amphoras for 7 days on skin contact, then followed by malolactic fermentation
Producer
Domaine des Tourelles was founded in 1868 by French adventurer François-Eugène Brun and is one of the most highly acclaimed and oldest wineries still operating in Lebanon. It was also the first commercial cellar in 'modern' Lebanon to produce wines, arak and other spirits. This place has history! The Brun family owned and ran the winery up until the last descendant died in 2003 but luckily two local families - the Issa and Issa el-Khoury families - joined forces to buy the property and continue the fine tradition of winemaking.
Today, this Bekaa Valley estate is run by the three Issa children - twins Faouzi and Johanne and their sister Christiane, alongside Emile Issa-el Khoury, son of one of the co-owners. This young and dynamic combination have introduced a handful of practices in the vineyards and cellar including the use of indigenous natural yeasts, no fining or filtering, and only very small amounts of sulphur. These techniques along with fruit from 40 hectares of ancient, organically cultivated and dry-farmed vineyards (among the oldest in the valley) and a winery perfect for hands-off winemaking, make Domaine des Tourelles one of the finest boutique wineries in the Middle East.
Specifications
| Year | 2023 |
| Bottle Size | 750ml |
| Cultivar | 100% Merweh |
| Country | Lebanon |
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| Units of Alcohol per Bottle | 8.25 units |
| Type | Orange Wine |
| Features | Vegetarian, Vegan, Organic, Sustainable |
| Cellaring Potential | 2023-2030 |
| Allergen Information | Contains sulphites |
| Origin | Bekaa Valley |
| Appellation |
Bsharreh mountains (at the foothills of the Millennial cedars) |
