We Don't Need No (Orange Wine) Education

When will the wine press rewrite its stale narrative about macerated wines?

If you’re reading this, you probably know that I wrote a book about orange wine. Amber Revolution was first published in 2018, following years of frustration which gradually morphed into research and something more proactive.

When I first discovered orange wines in Italy in 2011, it was hard to believe there was no in-depth reference work for the technique and its long history. But there really wasn’t. Eventually I figured out that if no-one else was writing that book, I’d better do it. It turned out to be more successful than I thought. Amber Revolution is now published in five foreign language editions and the third printing / second edition (2021) is close to being sold out. There will clearly have to be a third edition at some point.

A lot has happened since 2018, and even more since 2011. What was once regarded as a bizarre and often undrinkable curiosity is now a popular niche. Orange wines have their own sections on wine lists and in bottle shops. They even show up in supermarkets on occasion. The number of different ‘oranges’ produced worldwide is uncountable, certainly into multiple thousands if not even five figures.

But…. If you read the wine articles in newspapers or generalist wine publications on and off line, you might be forgiven for thinking it’s still 2011. The headline never seems to vary. Either it’s “Orange wine is this summer’s new craze that’s going to overtake rosé” (it’s not, and it never will) or it’s “What is orange wine and why you won’t like it” (of course I won’t like it, you just told me it’s weird).

The wine press has the memory of a goldfish. It has largely ignored a new generation of wine drinkers that didn’t just accept orange wines but actively likes them and frequents venues where they are served. So I was delighted when I happened across this recent article from fellow Substacker Dave Baxter: