Palette Orange

By many accounts, the “original” means of making any kind of wine at all was in the effort of creating what is nowadays labeled orange wine. It is, perhaps, a fool’s errand to define origins, but by many accounts the Georgians were the first people to have vinified grapes, making their amber wine from macerated+fermented grape-juice in Qvevri (clay/terracotta amphorae lined with beeswax, among other natural sealants) buried underground. 8,000 years later, here we are again. This selection features some of our favorite takes on the style of macerated wines and - to our eyes, noses, palates, and hearts - demonstrates an awesome range of the practice. From Michael Gindl’s very-lightly-macerated-you-may-think-it’s-white “Buteo” to Halcyon Days’s wild blend of orange/rosé expressions, these bottlings run the gauntlet on natural cellar innovation with awe-inspiring reverence, respect, and homage to this age-old style.