Orange Wine

Kakhuri N8 is a blend of 4 Georgian indigenous grape varieties – Rkatsiteli, Kakhuri Mtsvane, Khikhvi and Kisi, harvested in Kakheti, east Georgia. Grapes are exclusively hand selected and only highest quality, fully ripe grapes are used for production. The wine is made using old Kakhetian traditional winemaking method with skin contact. Fermentation on skins takes place for 7-10 days, once the fermentation is finished the grape skin remain with the wine for 6 months.

Full of rich dried fruit and nutty flavours and long dry refreshing finish are much easier to get your mouth around than the grape varieties that have gone into it!

Teliani Valley

The Brutler & Lieb vineyard is a well-known local representative of natural wines. There is one variety of wines that is capable of representing the true values of the viticulture region of Beltiug and this is our Grünspitz. Grünspitz is a variety of grapes, that exists only in our region. There are no other vineyards based on this variety, so this could have vanished. A few years ago, we grafted this variety on new plants and started a new vineyard. So this is the only vineyard in the world with this variety. "The sages" of the village have considered this variety of grapes as being extremely tasty and the wine having a solid acidity and a neutral taste with a low level of alcohol. It is just perfect to be served as it is refreshing. The grapes are very small, with thick skin and mature very late. The wonderful taste, persistent end and interesting taste of minerals define this wine. It is an exceptional companion for poultry ragout and marinated dishes, stew and fish dishes. Nachbill Winery

On the west side of Sicily close to Marsala, is where Rallo Azienda Agricola calls home.

Working organically, the Vesco family focus on creating fragrant crisp Catarratto and perfumed fresh Nero d'Avola from their hillside vineyards. These vineyards are certified organic and are nestled high up in the hills south of Alcamo to take advantage of the slightly cooler temperatures and greater diurnal differences. The vines look down on the town of Marsala where, when the grapes have been harvested, they are taken. Here Andrea Vesco treats them with respect, utilising modern technology to ensure the freshness is retained for the final wines and creating elegant examples of the varieties that are anything but what you would expect from such a hot land.

24 hours on the skins, no filtration or fining. This ‘Orange’ wine is straw yellow, bright but slightly turbid in colour thanks to the natural approach to winemaking, with no stabilisation, fining or filtration which results in a wine with very low sulphur levels. The bouquet is a wonderful mix of citrus, grapefruit, apple and white flesh fruits that all but mask the hint of elderberry and pleasant notes of Mediterranean flora.

Cantine Rallo

Kristian (son of Edi) farms 12ha on the western side of the hill (Collio) along with just 2ha over the border in Brda, Slovenia. Grapes are predominantly Tocai Friulano, Malvasia and Ribolla Gialla with Sauvignon and Chardonnay taking one or two minor roles. Skin contact gives this an attractive pithy bitterness. Subtle tannins add superb length and complexity.

A deeply personal project from Elena Pacheco and Isio Ramos, Bruma is an exciting interpretation of Jumilla and brings lightness, complexity and elegance to this hot, arid, and often monolithic region.

The idea behind making a white wine from the region’s traditional Airén grape variety falls in line with their objective of paying tribute to and enhancing the value of Jumilla’s native strains. Currently undervalued, Airén had its heyday some 50 years ago when it was prized for its notable yield. Owing to its long growth cycle, this variety is able to withstand the intense heat and scarce rainfall that characterise the DOs southern region. However, in present-day Jumilla the variety is in danger of extinction with only a few old vineyards still producing – one of which, with its 37-year old vines, gives rise to this wine.

Pale, orange in colour. Citrus fruit, spicy notes and Mediterranean herbs on the nose, crisp, sharp and mineral. This is not your usual Airén but the skin-contact maceration and biological ageing in demijohns have created a beautiful orange wine with immense character and expression.

Medium intensity yellow colour with a coppery rim. It presents a slight cloudiness due to the fact that it is unfiltered in order to give the most natural expression of the blend. Fruity notes reminiscent of quince, pear and apricot as well as an intense presence of mandarin and orange zest nuanced with aromas of beeswax and a pleasant floral bouquet. Complex on the palate, textured and with structure enhanced by the contribution of the skins, which provide chewy tannins, all supported by good acidity and volume on the palate.

Natural fermentation with prolonged skin contact maceration (30% whole cluster and the rest from destemmed grapes). Fermentation takes place in large 600L French oak barrels of over 5 years of age. These are open and positioned vertically for regular treading during fermentation. Once fermentation is complete, the barrels are closed and refilled for storage for 8 months of further maceration. After this period, the wine is separated from its skins and preserved for one month in clay and ceramic amphorae.

Stajerska is a hilly, predominantly white wine area in north-eastern Slovenia, bordering Austria and Hungary. Befitting its location it has a rich and varied history, with styles and varieties both of itself and of its neighbours. It is here that Matija Žerjav - known as Matic to his friends - farms nine hectares of old, organic family vineyards and makes wine in a cellar dating back to 1852. “We work only with what nature gives us,” says Matic, “so no chemicals in our wines.”

Fully organic and now certified Carbon Neutral, this is a vineyard blend of Riesling and the Alpine variety Kerner, famed for tasting very much of oranges. The wine spends 3 weeks maceration on skins and with no fining or filtration is very hazy and throws a sediment. Big pithy oranges on nose, this has a light, resatrained palate (much welcome post orange-ness) and a long lingering finish.

Is this a slightly blush orange wine, a rose made using orange wine methods or a bit of both? Who knows and, frankly who cares - when a wine is this deliciously drinkable who cares what label we bup on it.

Made from Grenache Blanc and Grenache Gris, fermented on skins and aged in 1000L Amphorae, this is an orange wine with a definate pink hue (OK, so maybe we do care what label we put on it). Seriously cool and refreshing and packed with stone fruits, mineral rocks and a hint of anise.

Altolandon