Of course it is the USA, which celebrates National Orange Wine Day on 6 October. The US has more than 1500 national days, which might sound ridiculous, but why not celebrate something every day? If you want to learn more about this ancient style, read Amber Revolution by Simon J. Woolf.

Etyeki Kúria, Pinot Gris Orange Wine, 2017

Sándor Mérész, chief winemaker of Etyeki Kúria has an experimental projects called ‘Mérész Sándor Projekt’. One of the fruits of his creativity is an orange wine made of Pinot Gris. The bunches were picked by hand, after destemming the must was kept on the skin for 10 days – to obtain flavours and the typical colour. The wine was then aged in second and third use Hungarian and French oak. Only 1300 bottles were filled, no wonder, the wine is sold out in most places. If you are lucky enough, you can treasure hunt amazing flavours: “Fruity and floral nose with pink grapefruit, candied orange peel and red cranberries. The palate is also fruity and complex with sour cherry, blood orange, orange peel, clove and cinnamon.”

However, do not cry over the sold out orange wine, taste the latest release by Sándor Mérész: MSP Fumé 2018, a Sauvignon Blanc, which was matured in the so called “breathing vessel”, the Flexcube.

More about MSP Fumé and other Etyeki Kúria wines

Kristinus Wine Estate, Pinot Gris Orange Wine, 2019

Kristinus Wine Estate in Balatonboglár wine region (South Balaton) is in the middle of convertion into biodynamic, as we wrote earlier in our article “No more gas masks!”. On the journey to more natural, Kristinus created its first orange wine of 100% Szürkebarát (Pinot Gris) last year. Only 600 bottles were made, therefore it is a limited experience indeed. “The biodynamicly grown fruit was carefully hand-picked, handled minimally, soaked and fermented on its skins in clay terracotta then nurtured in Hungarian oak for six months. Not only is the wine alluring and delicious to smell and taste, but possesses an absolutely gorgeous copper like colour to admire. You’ll explore aromas and tangy flavours of brown spices, dried apricots, green apple, pear skin, tropical citrus, coriander, caramel and peaches.” At the moment, within harvest Furmint is picked and the whole bunches go into the barrel – we can’t wait to taste the result of this new experiment!

More about Kristinus Wine Estate

Csetvei Cellar, NaranCH Orange Wine, Chardonnay, 2015

Krisztina Csetvei in Mór loves experimenting, her portfolio includes varietal wines in three versions according to the vinification method. She visited Georgia and she was among the first ones to age wine in amphora. She could not miss the orange wine trend, thus she made an orange wine in 2015, but unlike most winemakers, she used Chardonnay, not Pinot Gris. ‘Narancs’ means ‘orange’ in Hungarian, and CH obviously refers to the grape imitating the abbreviations of the periodic table. In an orange wine tasting held by Hajnalka Szabó wine blogger, this wine was one of the best according to the participants. The wine was made in limited quantity, a few bottles might be found, the best is to visit the winery in Mór (only 90 minutes’ drive from Budapest) and taste it along with Kriszti’s other experimental wines.

More about Csetvei Cellar