What Is Amber Wine? And Why Is It Also Called Orange Wine?

The first thing people say when they try our amber wine is some version of: wait, this is white wine?

Yes. White grapes. No red wine blended in. No food coloring. No trickery.

The color comes from the grapes themselves — specifically from what happens when you leave white grape juice in contact with the grape skins for months instead of pressing them off immediately. The skins turn the juice golden amber. The seeds and stems add tannins. Something that started as a white wine ends up tasting more like a red.

It sounds unusual. It is unusual. It is also 8,000 years old.

Georgia did not invent orange wine as a trend. Georgia invented it as a tradition. The rest of the world just caught up.

What Is Amber Wine?

Amber wine is white wine made with extended skin contact — the same process used to make red wine. White grapes are pressed and then left to ferment in contact with their skins, seeds, and stems for weeks or months. The skins slowly release tannins, pigments, and texture into the juice. The result is a wine that looks amber or golden, smells of dried fruit and honey, and tastes dry, textured, and complex.

Amber wine is white wine that decided to grow up. It has the aromatics of a white and the structure of a red. It smells like an invitation and tastes like a conversation that goes somewhere unexpected.

Why Is It Called Orange Wine?

Here is where things get confusing — and where we need to be honest with you.

The term orange wine has nothing to do with oranges. Not the fruit, not the flavor, not the color of an orange. Nobody quite agrees on where the name came from. The most likely explanation is that a British wine importer named Simon Woolf started using it in the early 2000s to describe skin-contact white wines from Slovenia and Italy — and the name stuck.

The problem is obvious. When most people hear orange wine, they think it is made from oranges. At our festivals, we hear this assumption at least five times a day.

This is why we call it amber wine.

Amber describes what the wine actually looks like. The color is golden amber — like dark honey, like autumn sunlight in a glass. No citrus involved. No oranges anywhere in the process. Just white grapes, time, and the Georgian earth.

Both names refer to the same wine. Amber wine and orange wine are identical — white wine with extended skin contact. We prefer amber because it is accurate. You may see either name on wine lists, in shops, and on bottles. Now you know they mean the same thing.

Amber Wine vs Orange Wine — Is There a Difference?

No difference in what the wine is. The difference is only in how people talk about it.

Orange wine is the more widely used term in the wine industry, in restaurants, and in wine media. If you search for it online or ask for it at a wine bar, orange wine is what people will understand.

Amber wine is the more accurate and less confusing term. It describes the color. It avoids the citrus association. Several Georgian wine producers and importers prefer it for exactly this reason.

In Georgia, neither term is commonly used. Georgians simply call it wine made in the qvevri method — because for them, skin contact is not a special style. It is just how white wine is made. The way it has always been made.

Where Does Amber Wine Come From?

The short answer: Georgia.

The long answer is one of the most interesting stories in the wine world.

Georgia has been making skin-contact white wine for more than 8,000 years. The traditional method — fermenting white grapes in clay qvevri vessels buried underground, with the skins and stems, for up to six months — naturally produces amber wine. This is not a stylistic choice. It is simply how the qvevri method works.

For most of the 20th century, Georgia was behind the Iron Curtain. All its wine went to Moscow. The West never saw it. Meanwhile, conventional winemaking — pressing white grapes immediately, removing skins, fermenting in stainless steel at controlled temperatures — became the global standard.

Then in the 1990s and early 2000s, a handful of winemakers in Slovenia and northeastern Italy began experimenting with skin-contact white wine. The wine world called it a revolution. Food and wine media declared it a new trend.

Georgia looked on with mild amusement.

Georgia did not rediscover skin-contact wine. Georgia never forgot it. While Europe was calling it a trend, Georgian grandmothers were making amber wine in their backyards the same way their grandmothers had, the same way their grandmothers had before that, going back 8,000 years.

What Does Amber Wine Taste Like?

This is the question everyone asks. And the honest answer is: nothing quite like what you expect.

The experience of amber wine is built on contrast. Pour it. Look at it — deep golden amber, sometimes closer to copper or bronze. Smell it. You will find dried apricot, quince, peach, honey, sometimes dried flowers or dried herbs. It smells rich and almost sweet.

Then taste it.

Everything changes. The sweetness disappears. What you find instead is dry, grippy, tannic. Structure that you normally associate with red wine. A long finish. An earthy minerality. Sometimes green tea, walnut, or mushroom notes. Sometimes the taste of autumn itself.

The contrast between the aroma and the taste is the defining characteristic of amber wine. Your nose promises one thing. Your palate delivers another. This is not a flaw — it is the point. The wine is more complex than a single impression. It asks you to pay attention.

People at our festivals always take a second sip immediately after the first. Not because they did not like the first sip. Because they need to make sure they understood what just happened. That second sip is what amber wine is for.

Compared to conventional white wine, amber wine is richer and more textured. Less bright and acidic, more savory and complex. Compared to red wine, it is lighter in body but similar in structure. It lives in a category of its own.

Why Does Amber Wine Have Tannins?

Tannins come from grape skins, seeds, and stems. In conventional white winemaking, the juice is separated from the skins almost immediately after pressing — before significant tannin extraction can occur. This is why conventional white wine feels smooth and low in tannins.

In amber wine, the juice stays in contact with the skins, seeds, and stems for weeks or months. Tannins have time to migrate from the solids into the juice. The result is a white wine with the tannic structure normally found only in red wine.

This is also why amber wine pairs so well with food that would overwhelm a conventional white wine. Strong cheese, cured meats, spiced dishes, roasted vegetables — amber wine can stand up to all of them.

How Long Does Amber Wine Age on Skins?

It depends on the producer and the style they are aiming for.

Short maceration (1 to 7 days): Produces a lightly amber wine with subtle tannins and just a hint of skin character. Still recognizably white wine but with more texture than conventional white.

Medium maceration (1 to 4 weeks): Produces a distinctly amber wine with noticeable tannins and complexity. Most modern orange wines from Europe fall into this category.

Long maceration (1 to 6 months): The traditional Georgian qvevri method. The wine spends months on the skins underground in a sealed clay vessel. Produces deeply amber wine with significant tannins, complex aromas, and extraordinary depth.

Our qvevri amber wines — Rkatsiteli Qvevri and Kisi Qvevri — use the traditional Georgian long maceration method. Six months underground. The full experience.

Amber Wine vs White Wine vs Red Wine — A Simple Comparison

Color: White wine is pale yellow. Amber wine is golden to copper. Red wine is red to purple.

Tannins: White wine has very few. Amber wine has noticeable tannins similar to a light red. Red wine has the most.

Aroma: White wine smells of fresh fruit and flowers. Amber wine smells of dried fruit, honey, and nuts. Red wine smells of dark fruit, earth, and spice.

Taste: White wine tastes fresh and acidic. Amber wine tastes dry, complex, and textured. Red wine tastes rich and tannic.

Food pairing: White wine with fish and light dishes. Amber wine with aged cheese, charcuterie, spiced food. Red wine with meat and hearty dishes.

How it is made: White wine — skins removed immediately. Amber wine — skins left in for weeks or months. Red wine — skins left in during fermentation.

Our Amber Wines

Rkatsiteli Qvevri. Made from Georgia's most widely planted white grape. Six months of skin contact in qvevri buried underground. Deep amber color, dried apricot, quince, green tea, and walnut. Dry, tannic, mineral. The most classic expression of Georgian amber wine.

Kisi Qvevri. A more rare Georgian white grape — stone fruit, herbal notes, apricot. Made in the same traditional qvevri method. Softer and slightly more aromatic than Rkatsiteli Qvevri, with the same characteristic amber structure.

Mtsvivani Kakhuri Amber. The rarest wine we carry. An ancient Georgian grape variety that almost disappeared entirely. Revived by our winery Koncho and Co after decades of neglect. Available in amber expression. Found nowhere else in California. For people who want to taste something genuinely irreplaceable.

Koncho Amber and Koncho Orange. Premium amber expressions from Koncho and Co with greater depth, complexity, and age potential.

How to Drink Amber Wine

Temperature. Serve between 14 and 16 degrees Celsius. Cooler than red wine, warmer than conventional white wine. About 30 minutes out of the refrigerator before serving.

Glass. Use a larger glass — the same type you would use for red wine. Amber wine opens up with air and benefits from space in the glass.

Decanting. Older or more tannic amber wines benefit from 20 to 30 minutes of decanting. Younger examples can go straight from bottle to glass.

Food. Aged cheese is the classic pairing — the saltiness and fat of the cheese complement the tannins and dried fruit character beautifully. Charcuterie, spiced lamb, roasted vegetables, mushroom dishes, and strong-flavored foods all work well. Sushi is a surprising and excellent pairing that Georgians would probably find amusing.

Who will love it. If you already drink red wine, amber wine is likely to appeal to you more than white wine drinkers. The structure is familiar. If you normally drink white wine and want to try something new, start with our Rkatsiteli Qvevri and pay attention to how the aroma and the taste tell different stories.

Frequently Asked Questions About Amber Wine

What is amber wine?

Amber wine is white wine made with extended skin contact — the grape juice ferments together with the grape skins, seeds, and stems for weeks or months. The skins give the wine a golden amber color and add tannins and texture normally found in red wine. Georgia has been making amber wine for more than 8,000 years.

Is amber wine the same as orange wine?

Yes. Amber wine and orange wine are exactly the same thing — white wine with extended skin contact. We prefer amber because it accurately describes the color and avoids confusion with the fruit. You will see both terms used in wine shops, restaurants, and on wine lists. They mean the same wine.

Why is it called orange wine if it is not made from oranges?

The name orange wine was popularized by wine writers in the early 2000s to describe skin-contact white wines from Slovenia and Italy. Nobody is entirely sure why orange was chosen — possibly because some of these wines have a faint orange tint. The name stuck despite being confusing. Amber wine is the more accurate alternative.

What does amber wine taste like?

Amber wine smells of dried apricot, quince, honey, and stone fruit — rich and almost sweet. But it tastes dry, tannic, and complex — more like a red wine than a white. The contrast between the aroma and the taste is the defining characteristic. People often take a second sip immediately, just to make sure they understood what happened.

Does amber wine have tannins?

Yes. Extended skin contact extracts tannins from the grape skins, seeds, and stems. This is why amber wine has a grippy, textured quality that conventional white wine lacks. The longer the skin contact, the more tannic the wine.

Who invented orange wine?

Georgia. Georgians have been making skin-contact white wine in clay qvevri vessels for more than 8,000 years. When European winemakers began making orange wine in the 2000s, they were rediscovering a method Georgia never abandoned.

What food goes with amber wine?

Aged cheese is the classic pairing. Also excellent with charcuterie, spiced lamb, roasted vegetables, mushroom dishes, and any food with strong savory flavors. Amber wine has enough structure to stand up to dishes that would overwhelm conventional white wine.

Is amber wine natural wine?

Traditional Georgian amber wine is among the most natural wine in the world — no added yeasts, no sulfites, no chemical intervention. The long maceration in clay qvevri buried underground uses only wild yeasts and the natural temperature of the earth.

How should I serve amber wine?

Serve at 14 to 16 degrees Celsius — warmer than conventional white wine, cooler than red. Use a large red wine glass. Older examples benefit from brief decanting.

Where can I buy amber wine in California?

Qvevri Wine Georgia carries three Georgian amber wines including the rare Mtsvivani Kakhuri. We deliver throughout California with free delivery in the Bay Area. Visit qvevriwinegeorgia.store.