I’ve well and truly caught the orange wine bug. It may have something to do with the fact that my wife is very choosy when it comes to reds, generally enjoying only light bodied reds in the Pinot Noir style.
This means that we can sometimes enjoy a bottle of red together but often, over dinner at home, I am drinking red and she white. And so came orange wine to the rescue; wines made from white grapes in the way that reds are made by fermenting and ageing with the skins hence extracting additional colour and resulting in whites with body and texture similar to reds.
This is the latest of Portuguese orange wines I have discovered, costing €22.45 at Apolónia. The producer is Poças, one of the great names in Port wine and a house that still is in the hands of the same family since being founded over 100 years ago.
They branched out from Port wine a few years ago with one of the ventures being the “Fora de Série” range, which includes this orange wine made from the Arinto grape, fermented and aged in used oak barrels. The colour is bright amber with a lovely nose of orange skin, peaches and dried fruits. Smooth tannins and refreshing acidity balance the palate with a long, dry finish.
