6 Chill Orange Wines to Try This Summer
Discover the vibrant allure of orange wine, a cool conversation starter with ancient roots, and get ready to spark your summer gatherings with six select bottles to try right now.
By Becky Duffett
Of course, rosé wine is a summer classic for crushing in the park. But recently, our guests have also developed a taste for orange wine. Orange wine comes in a range of pretty hues, from deep amber to just a touch of gold. They’re often conversation starters, revealing unexpected flavors and funkiness. While this is nothing new — it’s a winemaking tradition that dates back 8,000 years in Georgia — orange wine only started gaining interest five or ten years ago, and it’s proving enduringly popular.
“People are bored with what they’re drinking!” jokes Julian Erggelet of Erggelet Brothers. But in all seriousness, there’s something about orange wine that “sparks a natural curiosity.” He sees many people who are ready to explore, experiment, and try new wines.
To clear up any lingering confusion, orange wine does not contain any actual citrus. (Somms do still have to say that.) Orange only refers to the color, which comes from the method — white wine grapes fermented with the skins still on. So Erggelet and many other winemakers prefer to talk in terms of “skin contact,” “skin fermented,” or “macerated” wines. Leaving the skins on during fermentation adds bitter tannins, which creates a deeper color, different flavor, and unique experience. “The main thing is structure,” Erggelet says, referring to the balance between the acid, tannins, and other elements. “It adds this structure more commonly resembling red wine … there’s more going on.”
Erggelet Brothers, a cult favorite winemaker on restaurant menus across San Francisco, are stocked on shelves at Bi-Rite for the first time this summer. Brothers Sebastian and Julian Erggelet grew up in Germany, and had prior careers as an economist and a doctor, before chasing their passion for wine to California. They wound up in Contra Costa County, which they hope to establish as a serious wine region.
They started making rustic wines from obscure grapes in 2014 and experimenting with skin contact in 2016. They’ve made their wildly popular Malvasia as a clean white, a funky orange, and every shade in between. But today, it’s actually a balanced blend of directly pressed and skin contact grapes. “It’s an astonishingly light bottle of white that has a surprising structure … ” Julian says. “It’s like when you listen to jazz. You gotta listen! And then you realize, oh wow, there’s so much going on.”
Here are half a dozen bottles of intriguing skin contact wines to explore this summer. And feel free to ask the wine team for recommendations — they will keep adding more to keep up with popular demand.
Erggelet Brothers Malvasia Bianca ($34.69)
In the deep East Bay of Contra Costa County, the Erggelets make their slightly unusual Malvasia. It’s a blend of both directly pressed and skin contact grapes, to keep the wine light with lots of intrigue — Julian says he smells honeysuckle, cantaloupe, and Meyer lemons.
Biddizza Skin Contact ($29.39)
For all those who wish they were lounging by the pool at the villa, this sunny bottle from Sicily is a whole mood. The Catarratto and Zibibbo grapes get 15 days worth of skin contact, imparting notes of stone fruit and herbs.
Gulp Hablo Orange ($26.29)
Or if you feel like fanning off in a town plaza in Spain, try this tangerine-tinted bottle from Castilla-La Mancha. A trio of grapes — Verdejo, Garnacha, and Sauvignon Blanc — get one week in their skins. It tastes of stone fruit but with a slightly salty edge, making it easy to gulp.
Adega de Penalva Maceration ($23.09)
Above the Dao river in sunny Portugal, a cooperative of 1,000 small growers combine their Cerceal Branco, Encruzado, and Malvasia Fina grapes. Those get 20 days of skin contact, followed by aging in French barrels, bringing out citrus and honey notes in this mandarin wine.
Folk Machine Jeanne d’Arc ($23.09)
Or stay home for the summer in California, and kick back with an interesting bottle from the Sacramento Delta. For one of his more experimental wines, winemaker Kenny Likitprakong uses one hundred percent Chenin Blanc. It serves up citrus, pineapple, and almost mineral notes after six days in the skins and a stint in French barrels.
En Cavale Who Goes There? ($29.39)
Winemaker buddies Wolfgang Weber and Chad Hines started working together in 2017, and quickly developed a cult following for their limited releases. They like to pull grapes from Contra Costa County and up the North Coast. In the skin contact category, they blend Sauvignon Blanc with other whites, opening up tropical, citrusy, and salty notes.
Thirsty for more? Don’t forget about Bi-Rite Wine Club! Which offers several monthly subscription options to keep exploring interesting wines (of all hues).
Becky Duffett is a food writer living and eating in San Francisco. Follow her on Instagram at @beckyduffett.