12 Best Orange Wines to Try, From Georgia to Sicily

Orange wine earns its place at the table long before it earns a place in the trend cycle. The best orange wines to try offer the freshness of white wine, the texture of red wine and a distinctly food-friendly character that makes them unusually versatile. For drinkers accustomed to crisp Sauvignon Blanc or polished Chardonnay, that first glass can be a revelation: aromatic, gently grippy and often far more complex than its amber colour suggests.

Despite the name, orange wine is not made from oranges, nor is it necessarily sweet. It is white wine made with extended skin contact, meaning pale grape skins remain with the juice during fermentation. That time on the skins brings colour, tannin and a savoury dimension that can range from delicate tea-like bitterness to full, autumnal spice.

What Makes a Great Orange Wine?

The finest examples balance grip with brightness. They should feel structured rather than harsh, with enough acidity to keep the palate alive and enough fruit to carry their savoury notes. Style varies enormously according to grape, place and winemaker, which is precisely why orange wine rewards exploration.

A lightly macerated Pinot Grigio from Friuli may be floral, citrus-led and effortlessly refreshing. A Georgian qvevri wine can be deeper in colour, more tannic and layered with dried apricot, walnut and spice. Neither is inherently better. The right bottle depends on whether you want an elegant aperitif, a serious bottle for dinner or something genuinely distinctive to open with curious friends.

Natural, organic and biodynamic farming are common in this category, but they are not guarantees of quality. Look first for a producer with a clear sense of place and a disciplined approach in the cellar. Orange wine can be thrillingly wild, but it should never simply taste faulty.

12 Best Orange Wines to Try

1. Radikon Jakot, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy

Radikon is one of orange wine’s great reference points. Jakot is made from Friuli’s local name for Tocai Friulano and typically shows beeswax, orchard fruit, herbs and a firm, resonant tannic shape. This is a serious, contemplative wine rather than a casual chilled white, and it is a compelling choice for anyone ready to understand how profound skin-contact wine can be.

2. Gravner Ribolla Gialla, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy

Josko Gravner’s Ribolla Gialla is iconic for good reason. Long skin contact and ageing in large old oak create a wine of remarkable depth, with dried citrus peel, chamomile, honeyed nuts and earthy mineral notes. It is among the more expensive expressions of the style, but its complexity and ageing potential justify saving it for a special table.

3. Zidarich Vitovska, Carso, Italy

For a more mineral expression, look to the limestone-rich Carso plateau near Trieste. Zidarich’s Vitovska combines salinity, wild herbs, pear skin and a fine chalky grip. It has an invigorating, coastal quality that works beautifully with seafood, though it has enough structure to stand beside richer dishes too.

4. La Stoppa Ageno, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Ageno is generously aromatic and unafraid of texture. Made from Malvasia di Candia Aromatica, Ortrugo and Trebbiano, it can deliver orange blossom, ginger, apricot and spice alongside a broad, tannic palate. It is a natural partner for boldly seasoned cooking and an excellent bottle for red-wine drinkers who believe white wine should have more presence.

5. COS Pithos Bianco, Sicily, Italy

Sicily brings sunlit fruit and freshness to the category. COS Pithos Bianco, usually based on Grecanico, is fermented in terracotta amphorae and offers ripe citrus, Mediterranean herbs and a pleasantly tactile finish. Its warmth is tempered by lively acidity, making it one of the more approachable orange wines for a dinner party.

6. Foradori Fontanasanta Nosiola, Trentino, Italy

Elisabetta Foradori’s Fontanasanta Nosiola is poised, distinctive and quietly compelling. Nosiola’s gentle nutty character finds a natural home in amphora, producing a wine that can suggest quince, dried flowers, tea and mountain herbs. Choose this when finesse matters as much as character.

7. Pheasant’s Tears Rkatsiteli, Kakheti, Georgia

Georgia is the historic heartland of skin-contact winemaking, and Rkatsiteli is an ideal starting grape. Pheasant’s Tears offers a vivid expression of the country’s qvevri tradition, often with quince, dried apricot, black tea and savoury spice. The texture is more pronounced than in many European examples, yet the wine retains a vital, food-ready energy.

8. Iago’s Wine Chinuri, Kartli, Georgia

For a fresher, lighter-footed Georgian option, Chinuri is worth seeking out. Iago Bitarishvili’s wines have helped introduce a new generation of drinkers to Georgia’s native grapes and clay-vessel winemaking. Expect apple, citrus, hay and a fine herbal edge, with less weight than a deeply macerated Kakhetian bottling.

9. Partida Creus VN, Catalonia, Spain

Partida Creus has become a favourite among drinkers who enjoy vivid, low-intervention wines with real personality. VN is a blend that changes from vintage to vintage, often drawing on local Catalan varieties. It can be fragrant, saline and slightly wild, with stone fruit, citrus and a juicy, gently tannic finish. Serve it chilled and let its shifting details emerge over a meal.

10. Testalonga El Bandito Skin Contact, Swartland, South Africa

South Africa’s new-wave producers have made skin-contact Chenin Blanc an essential category to know. Testalonga’s El Bandito Skin Contact is typically bright and concentrated, bringing yellow apple, dried peach, honeycomb and savoury grip into balance. It has enough polish for a fine dinner, while retaining the sunny, expressive character of Swartland fruit.

11. Tschida Himmel auf Erden Weiss, Burgenland, Austria

Austria’s orange wines often feel energetic rather than heavy, and Tschida’s Himmel auf Erden Weiss is a joyful example. Aromatic grapes and gentle extraction make for a wine that can be floral, juicy and lightly spicy, with just enough texture to distinguish it from an ordinary white. This is a particularly good bridge for those who enjoy aromatic whites but want to explore further.

12. Domaine de l’Octavin Corvées de Trou Trou, Jura, France

The Jura is a natural home for idiosyncratic, gastronomic wines, and Domaine de l’Octavin captures that spirit. Depending on the vintage and grape mix, Corvées de Trou Trou can be bright, earthy and savoury, with tart orchard fruit and a lightly rustic edge. It suits adventurous drinkers and relaxed meals where the bottle can evolve in the glass.

How to Choose Your First Bottle

If you are new to the style, begin with a lightly extracted wine from Italy, Austria or Spain. These tend to offer bright fruit, modest tannin and an easy route into the category. Wines from Sicily and South Africa are also welcoming choices when you want texture without an overly challenging profile.

For a more traditional and structured experience, move towards Georgia or the deeper orange wines of Friuli. These are often best with food and benefit from a little air after opening. Do not assume the darkest wine will be the best, however. Colour reflects grape variety and skin-contact time, not a straightforward measure of quality or intensity.

Vintage matters, as it does across fine wine. A cooler year may give a tauter, more citrus-driven wine; a warmer one may bring richer fruit and softer acidity. Producer style matters even more. Some makers pursue pristine precision, while others welcome a more unfiltered, rustic expression. Neither approach is wrong, but it is worth knowing which character you prefer.

Serving Orange Wine With Confidence

Serve most orange wines cooler than reds but not as cold as a light white: around 10-14°C is a useful range. A lighter bottle can go closer to 10°C, while a structured qvevri wine will show more fragrance and texture at 13-14°C. Standard white-wine glasses are perfectly suitable, though a generous bowl gives more complex examples room to open.

Food is where the style truly shines. Orange wine’s tannin and acidity make it unusually adaptable with dishes that confound conventional white wine. Think roast chicken with preserved lemon, pork with fennel, mushroom risotto, squash, aubergine, lentil dishes and hard sheep’s cheese. It also handles spice admirably, particularly in Middle Eastern, North African and Indian-inspired cooking, provided the dish is not aggressively hot.

If a bottle seems shy or slightly angular on first pour, give it twenty minutes. Many skin-contact wines become more harmonious with air. A little sediment is also normal in minimally filtered examples and is not a fault.

The pleasure of orange wine lies in its refusal to be reduced to one taste or one occasion. Choose a bottle with a producer and region that interests you, put a proper meal on the table, and allow the wine to set its own pace.