The Best Orange Wines to Drink During Any Season

Best Overall

Field Recordings SKINS Orange Wine

View On Vivino View On Wine.com View On Drizly

Eric Hsu, co-founder of Coast and Valley wine bar in Brooklyn, New York, is partial to this blend from California's Central Coast. “Winemaker Andrew Jones has been killing it in Paso Robles since 2007 with single vineyard site wines showcasing a sense of place and personality,” Hsu says. “And with a wine with an as-clear-as-it-gets name called SKINS, Andrew claims it'll make anyone a believer in non-red wine. Honey and white flowers with notes of apricot and orange make this wine incredibly fun and crushable.”

When we first recommended the 2019 bottling, Field Recordings used a mix of Chenin Blanc, Riesling, and Pinot Gris. The 2021 version is still primarily those three varieties with Albarino, Vermentino, Verdelho, and Albillo Mayor added in. Jones recommends pairing this award-winning wine with some funky cheese, like a bleu, or a hearty duck sausage.

Price at time of publish: $25

Region: Paso Robles, California, USA | Variety: Chenin Blanc, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Albarino, Vermentino, Albillo Mayor, Verdelho | Tasting Notes: Dried apricot, orange zest, stone fruit, almond skin

Best Budget-Friendly

Gerard Bertrand Orange Gold 2020

View On Wine.com View On Vivino

Produced by Languedoc winemaking giant Gerard Bertrand, Orange Gold pays homage to the great skin-macerated wines of The Republic of Georgia, first produced over 6,500 years ago. Bertrand’s expression shows a fresh and easy-drinking side of skin-contact wine, rendering this bottle perfect for both novices and long-standing fans of orange wine alike. 

Produced from an organically-farmed blend of Chardonnay, Grenache Blanc, Viognier, Marsanne, Mauzac, and Muscat, this aromatic wine shows vibrant flavors of candied fruits, orange blossom, and white flowers, which harmoniously lead to a pleasant, slightly bitter finish that promises to excite the taste buds. The wine’s structure and light, well-integrated tannins make it the perfect pairing for pre-dinner appetizers, Asian favorites, or slightly spicy Indian cuisine.

Price at time of publish: $27

Region: Languedoc, France | Variety: Chardonnay, Grenache Blanc, Viognier, Marsanne, Mauzac, Muscat | Tasting Notes: Candied fruit, orange blossom, white flowers

Best for Outdoor Sipping

Gulp/Hablo Orange Wine

View On Wine.com View On Drizly View On FreshDirect

There are a number of reasons why Gulp/Hablo is great for outdoor sipping during the warmer months. Beyond its insane drinkability, the wine’s affordable price tag, low ABV, and liter-sized packaging (that’s 25% more wine than your standard-size, 750ml bottle!) render it our go-to pick. Produced from equal parts Verdejo and Sauvignon Blanc, this bright and lively skin-contact wine shows flavors of dried apricots, orange blossom, citrus rind, and hints of yeast. Textured and tasty, the wine’s lingering finish promises to keep you coming back for more—and with a price tag this low, keeping a solid stash on hand is as easy as ever.  

Price at time of publish: $20

Region: La Mancha, Spain | Variety: Verdejo, Sauvignon Blanc | Tasting Notes: Dried apricots, orange blossom, citrus rind, hints of yeast

Best Georgian

Shumi Iberiuli Khikhvi

View On Vivino

Like Winkler notes, the recent trend of making skin-on white wines isn’t remotely new in the nation of Georgia. There, orange wines (or “amber wines”, as Georgians prefer to call them) are an inextricable part of the cultural tradition. Back in the day, Georgian winemakers made amber wines in clay vessels known as qvevri, but while today’s amber wine is often fermented in wood or stainless steel barrels, the ancient commitment to creating warm and compelling flavor profiles prevails. 

For an orange wine that is in fact made in a qvevri and that, in terms of flavor and body, exemplifies what Georgian amber wines have to offer, try Shumi Iberiuli Khikhvi’s 2018 vintage. Made with the dry Khikhvi grape (a white grape native to Georgia), this wine features plush stone fruit notes like white peach and nectarine, along with a citrusy, grapefruit-esque tang, hints of minerality, herbaceous and floral aromas, and a bracing bitter finish that grounds the other flavors in an elegant and satisfying way. 

Price at time of publish: $27

Region: Kakheti, Georgia | Variety: Khikhvi | Tasting Notes: White peach, nectarine, grapefruit rind, dried herbs

Most Funky

Icaro Nemico Bianco Vulcanico

View On Vivino View On Pogoswine.com

Icaro’s vineyard can be found in the Castelli Romani DOC region of Italy, which is just southeast of Rome, nestled among the Colli Albani hills. This location gives Icaro a volcanic terroir, which brings a plethora of intriguing flavor notes to the grapes grown there and, ultimately, to the wines made with those grapes. Icaro’s Nemico Bianco Vulcanico, a skin-contact white wine made with the Trebbiano and the Malvasia di Candia Aromatica grapes, boldly and deliciously maximizes the mineral-heavy, flinty notes provided by the volcanic soil.

In addition to its minerality, Icaro Nemico Bianco blends bright citrus flavors, tropical aromas, hints of yeast, and an earthy, slightly bitter funk. The result is a wine that has enormous stage presence right from the first nosing, and each sip opens your tastebuds up to a new facet or dimension. Icaro Nemico Bianco has a medium body and more intensity than a classic porch-pounder, and its zingy fruit profile makes it especially enjoyable for the wine drinker who gravitates toward nuance and complexity. 

Price at time of publish: $29

Region: Lazio, Italy| Variety: Malvasia di Candia, Trebbiano | Tasting Notes: Lemon peel, celery, smoke

Best Easy to Find

COS Pithos Bianco

View On Vivino View On Drizly

Founded in 1980, COS is the brainchild of three Sicilian winemakers with a vision to create top-quality, low-intervention wines from Sicily. Four decades later, this pioneering brand remains at the helm of affordable natural wine and has since inspired countless local producers along the way. (Note: COS is an acronym of the founders' last names: Cilia, Occhipinti, and Strano). 

Pithos is COS’ answer to affordable, skin-contact wine produced in a responsible way. Crafted in the heart of Ragusa, this varietal Grecanico is produced from biodynamically-farmed fruit and vinified in terracotta vessels. Savory, floral, and easy to drink, this relatively low-ABV (11.5%) wine shows flavors of yellow stone fruit, dried herbs, and saline. Serve chilled.

Price at time of publish: $35

Region: Sicily, Italy | Variety: Grecanico | Tasting Notes: Yellow stone fruit, dried herbs, saline

Best Pet Nat

Tincan Persuasive Pet Nat

View On Wine.com

For a sparkling wine that’s perfect for sipping all day long, look no further than Tincan’s Persuasive (skin-contact) Pét-Nat. Contrary to other methods of sparkling wine production, the méthode ancestrale—pét-nat technique—often leaves final wines with softer bubbles, lower ABVs, and an occasional dash of residual sugar. Tincan’s pét-nat is produced mostly from Sauvignon Blanc with a smidge of Riesling. On the palate, flavors of mandarin, lemongrass, grapefruit rind, and dried cooking herbs lead to a vibrant, citrus-forward finish. 

Price at time of publish: $36

Region: Nelson, New Zealand | Variety: Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling | Tasting Notes: Mandarin, lemongrass, grapefruit rind, dried cooking herbs

Best California

Stolpman Vineyards Love You Bunches Orange 2021 Love You Bunches Orange 2021

View On Wine.com

Stolpman Vineyards has been at the forefront of Santa Barbara winemaking since 1990. This family-owned-and-operated business has been highlighting the often overlooked potential of wines from the Ballard Canyon AVA, which officially received appellation status in 2013. The ‘Love You Bunches’ range of wines began with the estate’s carbonic Sangiovese back in 2016, a wine that stole the show at winemaker Pete Stolpman’s wedding.

Since then, the lineup has expanded to include this skin-contact blend of Pinot Gris, Orange Muscat, Sémillon, and Gewurztraminer, produced using whole grape bunches (hence the cuvée’s name) during fermentation. Fruit for this wine is organically farmed, gently pressed, and vinified in steel without any added sulfur. Medium-bodied and bright, the wine shows flavors of melon, papaya, citrus rind, and hints of savory spice on the finish.

Region: Santa Barbara, California, USA  | Variety: Pinot Gris, Orange Muscat, Sémillon, Gewurztraminer | Tasting Notes: Melon, papaya, citrus rind, savory spice

Best Organic

Sybille Kuntz Estate Mosel Organic Orange Riesling Trocken 2020

View On Wine.com View On Vivino

Sybille Kuntz has spearheaded her family estate for over 30 years. A long-time pioneer of organic and biodynamic farming, Kuntz’s estate began farming organically back in 1990 (certified in 2013), then achieved Demeter certification (biodynamics) in 2013. Based in the heart of the Mosel, her 18 hectares of vines average between 45 and 80 years in age, leading to small amounts of concentrated, healthy fruit. 

Kuntz first began producing her Organic Orange Riesling back in 2017. Fruit comes from biodynamically-farmed, 50-year-old vines rooted in blue slate soils. Grapes are carefully harvested by hand, de-stemmed, and crushed in open tanks, followed by six months of maceration/spontaneous fermentation. The wine then ages in large (1,000L) oak foudres for six months prior to being bottled unfined/unfiltered. On the palate, flavors of orange pith, dried apricots, grapefruit rind, and sweet spice dominate the wine’s grippy, complex, and vibrantly textured palate. Riesling skeptics, this unique side promises to open your mind to a whole new world. (Note: Trocken means dry in German. Riesling bottles boasting this word are bottled without any residual sugar.)

Price at time of publish: $38

Region: Mosel, Germany | Variety: Riesling  | Tasting Notes: Orange pith, dried apricot, grapefruit rind, sweet spice