What is natural wine or orange wine?

The concepts are here not universal. Basically, orange wine describes a style of wine which is produced in a certain way. It is a skin-fermented white wine (counterpart to Rose – not skin-fermented red) which absorbs through this process more colour and strong tannins (tanning agents). This gives structure and clearly differentiates it from conventional white wines. Orange is known as the forth colour of wine. The forth wine colour has its origins (as many other types of wine as well) in Georgia in its most fertile and valuable cultivated lands. Only because its called orange, doesn’t actually mean that the colour must be orange. The colour spectrum is diverse. Also clouding through floating particles of yeast is possible and is no lessening of quality. “Here with us there are many archaic, skin-fermented, unfiltered, amber-coloured works of wine!”

Amber shows special real wine quality

Naturally, orange wines are compelling for us from bio production. No synthetic and systematic or deep action fungicides or insecticides on the berries. No products on the skins and berries that are hostile to life. Archaic, skin-fermented, unfiltered, amber-coloured, wines – maceration, fermentation, malolactic and maturation on skins in 600 l stettins as with Blanca. Essences from amphorae – maceration, fermentation, malolactic fermentation for up to 1 year in Georgian Kevries, maturation for up to 24 months in large, unglazed clay amphorae. Character, versatility and potential through subtle winemaking. “Earthly & Earthenware!”

Natural wine as a result of attitude

Behind “natural wines” there is more than just a wine style. Premium wines without additives and technological operations are matured in toasted 600 l stettins according to variety and vintage for up to 36 months. They are archaic, mash fermented , unfiltered amber-coloured works of wine whereby the essences from the amphorae are the crown jewels of wine. White like red sometimes unfiltered with or without sulphur addition. Here the philosophy, the ideological attitude to the wine is decisive to the winemaking process over the actual result. Production starts in the vineyard, then as little work as possible in the cellar to create untreated and unadulterated wines.

How real wine came about at Ploder – Rosenberg

What is particularly original is the practice of creating in Kevries (amphorae from special clay) very profound and sustainable wines from whole grapes and berries having long periods of  maceration, alcoholic and malolactic fermentations and maturation. This includes increasing healthy components as well as beneficial energy from the power of the earth.

For many years we’ve been growing here our own biological, dynamic vines in our totally diverse gardens of wine in the Vulkanland area of Styria. Specially selected, ripened and totally healthy batches from the best vines are harvested by hand, sorted and stored in our Georgian kevries / clay amphorae which are buried in the ground. Maceration, alcoholic and malolactic fermentation takes place here for months on end without any additives and technical intervention but with goodwill and constant tastings. In certain cycles immersion takes place and thereby a dampening of the cap which has risen up. At the beginning impetus is initiated through escaping fermentation carbonic acids. The sedimentation of the seeds, skins and berry components set in after several weeks. The raw diamond wine is what appears above the mash in the amphorae.

In the case of the present vintages, the separation of the mash takes place after just 4 months through siphoning off the red wine and pressing the damp cake of mash through sieve surfaces. The resulting wine is entrusted for a further 4 months to the amphorae. In the early summer it is too warm outside so we take the wine into the cool cellar to earthware containers  (700 l “clay eggs”) or vats made of different types of wood and of varying toasting levels. After 2 further years of storage it is bottled totally unfiltered without or with only the smallest amount of sulphor added.