Orange wine looks to be the next hot trend coming out of Argentina. While the South American nation might be best known for Malbec, it seems like those tangerine dreams are about to become a reality for the country’s major export markets.
Phil Crozier, ambassador for Wines of Argentina, told The Drinks Business, “A couple of big producers are poised to bring out an orange wine, including Susana Balbo, who is working on an orange Torrontés. It’s absolutely stupendous, and coming soon. I think we’ll be seeing more orange wine from Argentina.”
Orange wine recently went through its seventh or so round of soaring interest. A type of white wine made by leaving the grape skins and seeds in contact with the juice to a deep orange-hued finished product, the style is best known for coming out of Southeastern Europe and Northeastern Italy. In recent years, however, winemakers across the globe, particularly in the United States, Australia, Austria, and even France have jumped into the orange wine production world. Now it seems like Argentina is the next to jump on the bandwagon.
Not all Argentine winemakers agree, however, as Laura Catena, managing director of the Catena Zapata wine estate, said, “Torrontés has a certain bitterness in its skins and we don’t like the orange style it makes.” Even she, however, sees a future in the orange stuff, “We have made Moscato with some skin contact, and it makes for a very refreshing, beautiful wine. So an orange wine made from Moscato could be interesting and delicious.”
Whether or not everyone agrees, Argentina is ready to push a bunch of orange wines into the marketplace. Susana Balbo Wines is one of a variety of wineries releasing new bottlings. Earlier this year, it rolled out its Signature Limited Edition Torrontés Naranjo 2019.
Where the world goes from here, only time will tell, but we certainly wouldn’t mind seeing what could come from Argentina’s already rich wine culture.
