Are natural winemakers in denial about mousiness?

http://www.themorningclaret.com/2017/are-natural-winemakers-in-denial-about-mousiness/

 

USA orange wine

Besides Italy and Georgia, Slovenia and Croatia also make orange wines, and over the last five years, adventurous winemakers in the United States have gotten in on the action. “People making orange wines, by their nature, are more experimental,” says William Allen, winemaker and owner of Sonoma County’s Two Shepherds winery. Allen himself made orange wine from a blend of Roussanne and Marsanne grapes in 2011. He even makes an orange-style wine from a grey grape called Trousseau Gris—it looks like a rosé but tastes like an orange wine.

http://news.hvino.com/2014/10/a-guide-to-orange-wine.html#more

Trelab presented a poster about ongoing Qvevri research at the recent Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers annual meeting.

Trelab presented a poster about ongoing Qvevri research at the recent Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers annual meeting.

via The Qvevri Project.

Characterization of Selected Organic and Mineral Components of Qvevri Wines

Characterization of Selected Organic and Mineral Components of Qvevri Wines

via Characterization of Selected Organic and Mineral Components of Qvevri Wines.

the 2 d Qvevri Wine Symposium in Georgia – Four Monasteries and no funerals: Georgian Adventures

Qvevri Wine Symposium in Georgia. Some were writers and photographers, some were winemakers who used clay pots in their vinification, and others were grizzled wine trade pros with a natural swerve to their step. The trip was organised to a t, balancing the needs of education, culture-vulturing as well as copious spiritual – and spirituous – refreshment. One can say without doubt that coming into contact with another culture teaches you about your own.

via Four Monasteries and no funerals: Georgian Adventures.

Marks and Spencer serves up orange wine surprise from Eastern Europe | Mail Online

Wine expert from M&S, Jeneve Williams, said: ‘Most ‘normal’ white wines are produced by quickly separating the juice from the seeds and skins, keeping a pale colour.‘Orange wines, or amber wines as they are often called are actually white wines produced more like reds – with prolonged contact with the crushed grape skins and seeds, resulting in a deeper colour from the pigments found in grape skins. ‘When visiting Georgia earlier this year to blend new wines, we were excited to try the style – and were impressed with the complexity of the wines.

via Marks and Spencer serves up orange wine surprise from Eastern Europe | Mail Online.

Rkatsiteli (Quevri) – Alaverdi Monastery | Buy Georgian Wines Online | The Georgian Wine Society

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Price: 21.99  GBP (Equivalent per bot

via Rkatsiteli (Quevri) – Alaverdi Monastery | Buy Georgian Wines Online | The Georgian Wine Society.

kvevri — Food Stories

They get these massive clay pots called qvevri, and they bury them in the ground. Then they whack everything juice, skins, stems in there, seal it up with clay and let it all separate out. The wine is then drawn off the top very carefully using a special jug on a stick. They use a really old grape variety called Rkatsiteli which comes out freakin’ orange! Then there’s another one, which is red and called Saperavi. They’re both native to Georgia. The first time I tasted the orange wine, I was quite taken aback; that stuff is just totally unlike any wine I’ve ever tasted; kinda funky but, you know what? I got into it. By the end of that trip I think we were all a bit Georgian.

via kvevri — Food Stories.

2008 Pheasant’s Tears Rkatsiteli, Republic of Georgia – Vinography: A Wine Blog

For anyone who has yet to try an orange wine, this is as good a place to start as any, and the price is right. While not as complex as some of the efforts produced by Gravner and others, it is delicious and possesses all the wonderful qualities that led me to fall in love with orange wines the moment I had my first — exotic aromas, mysterious tannins, and wonderful abilities to complement food.You’ll have to be the judge as to whether it lives up to the winery’s namesake — the wine that was so good it could make a pheasant cry.Tasting Notes:Earning its local nickname as “fire wine” this bright, nearly neon orange glass smells of exotic flowers, candle wax, candied apricots and just a hint of tomato. In the mouth the wine has a wonderful creaminess that is offset by somewhat stiff tannins and bright acidity. That creaminess leans towards a waxiness as flavors of orange peel, fresh ripe apricots, and exotic spices swirl in a beautifully textured concerto. The finish is long and features that waxy quality along with floral notes and the grip of tannins. Excellent, and exotic. Will benefit from decanting. 12.5% alcohol.

via 2008 Pheasant's Tears Rkatsiteli, Republic of Georgia – Vinography: A Wine Blog.

Experiment Update: Pressing Grapes out of our Amphora / Tinaja / Qvevri | Organic Wine Journal

So in Spetember, when we harvested the Malvar grapes from our new vineyard in Villarejo, we filled up the amphora with manually crushed grapes, sealed it, and basically left it alone. We didn’t add any substances at all no SO2 and we just punched down the cap every so often until the skins didn’t float any more. Anyway, that’s 5 months of skin contact.During this time, the skins, pips, lees, etc all sank to the bottom and the top became liquid – a golden transparent liquid.. Every so often we would open up the ‘lid’ a plastic sheet tied down tightly and we would taste the wine to see how it was developing.

via Experiment Update: Pressing Grapes out of our Amphora / Tinaja / Qvevri | Organic Wine Journal.