Gimme Some Skin

NB: discount extended until Sunday 6 October (Orange Wine Day)!

Get in touch for recommendations or help placing an order for delivery: info@onceuponavine.sg.

 

Save an awesome 20% (yes, 20%) on all wines in our Gimme Some Skin collection!

 

This week we turn the spotlight on the 4th wine colour ... orange!

 

 

You can call it orange wine, or amber wine, or skin-contact white wine. You can call it unusual. But what you can't do is ignore it :)

 

No, this isn't a 'new' wine style. It's actually the oldest style of wine...

 

Back before vitners had 'modern' technology all grapes were harvested, crushed, then left to ferment in barrels or amphorae. The clear juice was in contact with the skins (and seeds, and most of the stems) for as long as it took for the yeast to do their work of converting the sugar to alcohol.

If the skins were pale, like in many white grape varieties, the final wine would have a golden or amber hue. If the skins were red or black the wine would end up on a spectrum from pink to purple or ruby.

 

This time spent macerating the juice in the skins imparted more than just colour (from the anthocyanins). It also infused the wine with extra character and texture.

Most noteworthy for many wine drinkers is the tannic component. This is missing from 'modern' white wines but in orange wines it adds a layer of complexity.

 

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Want to understand more about this fascinating wine style?

 

There are heaps of great books (like The Amber Revolution by Simon Woolf) but to make it super simple ... I recently had the absolute pleasure of listening to a great episode of the Wine Blast podcast by UK Master of Wine couple Susie and Peter, as they explained the basics about orange wine and interviewed some of the experts in this growing wine category.

I highly recommend it. There are 2 parts. Start with the first part here: https://susieandpeter.com/podcast-episodes/season-five-wine-blast-podcast/orange-wine-part-1 ... and then make sure you grab a bottle (or a few) from our Gimme Some Skin collection to drink along with your 'studies'!! ;-)

 

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"How do I enjoy the discount on all these special wines?"

 

EASY: Click this link or add the code SKINS at checkout to see your 20% discount applied to any skin-contact wines you buy this week.

NO MINIMUM SPEND. Code valid until midnight Sunday 6th October 2024, aka Orange Wine Day (#OrangeWineDay)!!

 

Read about our top picks below or contact Laura for a personal recommendation.

 

Ramato (from the Dolomite Mountains)

 

 

Ramato (which translates to COPPER is a historical style of producing Pinot Grigio with skins left in contact with the juice for a short time, resulting in a gorgeous copper hue! "The added skin contact does wonders by adding another dimension of depth and savoury drinkability to Pinot Grigio" according to US wine writer Kirk Peterson.

Family winery, Pravis, produce a ‘modern’ Pinot Grigio, but they also produce a ‘ramato’ versoin called POLIN. It’s a soft wine with gentle fruit and flower aromas. Expect notes of pear, citrus peel, yellow flowers and hints of spice (ginger). Perfect for pairing with light to medium dishes (great with dim sum) or on its own as a refreshing drink in the sun!

For ‘orange wine newbies’ you can ease your way into this ‘new’ style with a bottle of POLIN by Pravis.

CLICK HERE

 

Sicilian Skin-Contact

 

 

Carricante grapes from the eastern slopes of Mount Etna are left to macerate with their skins in concrete vessels, to make the very special, limited-production, SANT' ANDREA.

Subtle in terms of a 'skin-contact' white wine, but with great complexity and superb ageing potential.

Psst! We still have 2 vintages in stock but only a few bottles of each, so don't wait too long to get your hands on some of my favourite wine!! ;)

CLICK HERE

 

'Old-School' Oslavia Orange

 

 

North-east Italy's Friuli region spearheaded a revolution in 'modern' white winemaking in the 1970s but, somewhat ironically, it also led the way for 'traditional' amber wines in the 90s! Leaders in the 'revolution' include names like Gravner and Radikon. They went on to inspire (and teach) others like Damijan Podversic.

Try a varietal from Oslavia in Friuli, like Ribolla Gialla by Damijan or Malvasia Miklus by Draga, to experience a fully orange wine!

CLICK HERE

 

Late harvest PiWi grape, solera system, orange wine!!!

 

 

And now for something completely different…

Winemaking legends Pojer and Sandri have done it again. They’ve been creative and innovative, while honouring old wine styles.

Using late harvest grapes from the Piwi vine - specifically Solaris – they have created a special wine that harnesses historic winemaking traditions. It undergoes a Georgia-influenced long skin maceration in non-oxidative environment (the technique that dates back to 9000 years ago) and then a Spanish/Sicilian-inspired solera system (a practice from 500 years ago) ageing in old barrels originally used for their delicious Divino brandy.

This is a truly unique wine, bursting with character.

The name? Zero Infinito PERPETUO. After numerous vintages to evaluate the PiWi grape's potential, they finally made their first 'pet nat' from Solaris in 2017 and called it Zero Infinito in reference to 1) the 'zero' impact thanks to the grapes incredible disease-resistance that requires no chemicals in the vineyard or intervention in the cellar and 2) the seemingly 'infinite' time it took to reach this moment, given the research behind the vine crossing itself began in 1975 and then it took 39 harvests to be satisfied with the fruit coming from Pojer e Sandri's Faedo vineyards! Down in Sicily winemakers used an ancient perpetuum aging method, that become known locally as 'vino perpetuo'.

For wine lovers who enjoy taking the “road less travelled” this is for YOU! Only a few bottles in Singapore, so order a bottle now:

CLICK HERE

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What does the wine industry have to say about this growing category of wine?

The Drinks Business launched its inaugural Global Orange Wine Masters in 2024 and had this to say; “Skin contact and orange wines are a true success story. From qvevri fermentation in Georgia thousands of years ago, to becoming the go-to wine style of a new generation of wine drinkers, orange wine is now made all over the world and its popularity keeps rising".

Gambero Rosso has an interesting article about the “evolution … of Italian skin-contact wines” where they explain that “the technique of skin maceration is becoming increasingly fascinating”. Takeaways from the article include these thoughts:

• “The historical accreditation is prestigious: in Georgia, in the Caucasus region, qvevri, buried amphorae, have always hosted wine and its skins. … It's difficult to precisely date the origins of the method, but historians suggest six to eight thousand years"
• “More and more producers… choose these containers to meet contemporary tastes, which, unlike in the past, want less wood"
• “In a context where alcohol has become feared again … this can be exorcised with culture, explaining that wine has been made for millennia and always consumed. The amphora overcomes the prejudice against an interventionist enology"

Read the full article online HERE: www.gamberorossointernational.com/news/evolution.....

 

More industry notes being added here soon ...