It’s been several months since we started the orange wine. Why orange, you ask? Because there was a bag of delicious, juicy Valencia oranges in the refrigerator that were on the verge of being past their prime – often, what’s available is a key factor in the decision about which wine to make.
After the initial fermenting phase, we siphoned the wine into a glass jug to age. Over the course of a couple of months, the wine was siphoned from the first jug into another jug several times to remove the sediment that collects on the bottom (otherwise, it would taste yeasty and look cloudy – neither of which are selling points for wine). The wine ages in a cool basement room surrounded by shelves of good books and a nice painting of a quaint village, for inspiration.
When the wine reached 3 months old, we decided to sample it to determine if it was ready for consumption. It poured a warm amber color, with bright orange zest notes, and was reminiscent of an orange-flavored cordial (though the orange isn’t overbearing and the wine isn’t particularly sweet). This wine was very good and perfect for a cold, wet, winter evening. We’ll definitely make this one again.