The Independent: “13 best orange wines”

Two Georgian orange wines produced the ancient Georgian way – in a qvevri (clay jar) – have been picked as among best orange wines selected by leading British newspaper and online media The Independent.

The website stated orange wines – so named because of their colour rather than their contents – are white wines made using the same principles and methods as red.

The skins are left on, producing tannins and leaving the wine spicier, herbier and drier than most. Made by small, dedicated producers, most of them don’t come cheap, but their fame is spreading.”

Georgia’s Tbilvino Qvevris 2011 was ranked number one on the list while Ramaz Nikoladze Tsolikouri 2013 ranked 10th of 13 places.

When describing the Tbilvino Qvevris 2011 wine, The Independent said the medium-priced wine was produced by fermenting the grape juice and skins in large clay jars known as Qvevri.

Dry, spicy and a good match for a seafood platter, the price tag also makes it a good one to start with.”

Meanwhile the Ramaz Nikoladze Tsolikouri 2013 wine was described as coming from a small vineyard in western Georgia where the vines are up to 100 years old.

"The grape juice is put into one qvevri (or amphora) for six months to ferment and then racked up in a second for up to a year. A spicy floral finish with hints of dried fruit.”

The list also included orange wines from Italy, Austria, Australia, Spain and more.

Read the full article here: www.independent.co.uk