Many restaurants now list at least one “orange” wine on their list, as this ancient style of winemaking is seeing a well-deserved surge in popularity. Orange wines are made with white wine grape varieties, but the juice is macerated along with the grape skins, giving the wine an orange colour and some very dynamic flavours.
In British Columbia there are now a few winemakers producing orange wine, and winemaker Matt Dumayne is one of them. Dumayne’s L’Orange Schonberger is made on Vancouver Island at 40 Knots Winery and the wine has been receiving high praise. It’s a dry wine with lower alcohol and lots of complexity and aging-ability. Descriptions of the wine have included phrases such as soft tannins, apparent mandarin orange, cigar box, herb and flowers.
Recently released, the Pinot Noir is always in high demand, so joining the wine club might be a good idea if you are a fan. There are also some new wines at 40 Knots Winery, as they’ve produced a Gamay for the first time as a single varietal, and a Vin de Cure, a naturally botrytis-affected wine that has been dried and hand pressed in an Italian basket press. The Vin de Cure will come in 375 ml bottes and there are only 200 bottles available. Also look for a new label on the Soleil Rosé, created by a local artist, and more of the sold out bubble will be on the shelves soon and available in their online shop.
Musical entertainment for Wine Wednesdays is listed on the winery’s website and they are offering a variety genres for your listening pleasure this summer. Tickets are just $12.50, or $10 for wine club members, and food is available for purchase.
~ Cassandra Anderton