Red, white—and blue?

We are all familiar with red and white wines—along with rosé wines in the balmy summer months. Some of us may even be familiar with “vin jaune” that is produced in the Jura region of France, and is similar to a fino sherry (but without sherry’s usual alcohol fortification). But are you ready for orange or blue wine?

Orange wine is nowadays produced in Georgia from a local grape called rkatsiteli, which is selected to produce wine with a deep red/orange hue. Orange wines will taste different than white wines, and might even taste a little like sourdough with a nutty influence due to oxidation. Taste profiles include honey, fermented apples, fresh shelled Brazil nuts, pine resin and linseed oil. Once you taste orange wine, you will find it ideal for food pairings. (If sherries can pair, then why not orange wine?) You just have to open mind and palate.

With regards to winemaking, the production of orange wine harks back to the future. When wine was first produced in what is now Georgia, the wines were fermented in large beeswax-lined earthenware vessels called Kvevri. The mouth of the Kvevri is, to this day, closed with a stone, sealed with beeswax, and is buried for up to a year. Embraced by the coolness of the earth, the white wine ferments in a natural steady temperature. Since the late 1990s, there has been a renaissance in producing wine using this natural process that needs little or no additives (or even yeast).

For something completely different, how do you feel about blue wine? In collaboration with the University of the Basque Country’s Food Tech department, a Spanish startup company called Gïk is hoping to redefine our visual wine experience. Using red and white grapes from vineyards throughout Spain, they craft this colour using a natural pigment found in grape skins—anthocyanin— and indigo dye. They expect to market the wine initially in Europe, in the price range of 12 Euro. That’s as much as I know for the moment, but I will share more information as I get more details.

THIS WEEK’S PICK
As you go wassailing throughout the County, you will have the opportunity to taste the treats and wines (and nouveau wines) that are currently available.

You can even taste an orange wine when you visit Broken Stone Vineyard. Tim and Candace crafted this wine especially for this year’s festival of Wassail. At $15, it is priced to savour, experience and enjoy.