The colour is medium copper. A bit cloudy. On the nose candied citrus-fruits, strawberries, mango, orange marmalade and resin. In the mouth fresh and surprisingly tannic for a white wine. It leaves a drying sensation. The aftertaste is medium long. This wine is very peculiar.
Ograde is an orange wine made with each 25% Vitoska, Malvasia, Sauvignon and Pinot Grigio grapes.
Vitoska is a rare and ancient greenish-gold variety that is found predominantly in the Carso (in the north-eastern Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy). The variety is believed to be a crossing of Prosecco Tondo and Malvasia Bianca Lunga. Its name is of Slovenian origin.
Orange wine is a type of white wine made by leaving the grape skins and seeds in contact with the juice, creating a deep orange-hued finished product.
The process of making Orange wine is ancient, but it only resurfaced in the last 20 odd years. Modern-day winemakers look for inspiration at Georgia in Caucasus, where white wines are fermented on grape skins and seeds in large subterranean vessels called Qvevri. The same process used to make red wines.
Closer to home, most orange winemaking can be found in north-eastern Italy, along the border of Slovenia, where the orange wine process was popularized by winemaker Josko Gravner, who first attempted an orange wine in 1997.
This exemplar is mad by Skerk under the Venezia Giulia IGT and sells for around 30 EUR a bottle.
This is my 300th wine review in slightly more than 5 years. In fact, I did my first post on June 15th, 2017. Time goes by very fast… especially while drinking a good glass of wine… or two. Cheers! 🥂
Country: Italy
Region: Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Grapes: Vitoska, Malvasia, Sauvignon, Pinot Grigio
Type: White/Orange
Vintage: 2019
Producer: Skerk
Price range: Premium (30-50 US$)
Pascal’s Enjoyment Index: 4/5