OK, first things first: There are no oranges in orange wine. And no tangerines, tangelos, mandarins, clementines, ponkans, blood oranges, Buddha’s hands, or sumo citruses (citrii?) either. Not a one.

If you’re a casual wine drinker, you may be sleeping on orange wine. To get you up to speed, no oranges go into producing this wine. (It’s an actual question the vino experts get). Also, orange wine isn’t technically it’s own type of wine; it’s a color of wine, and its hue can range from pale yellow to copper to highlighter orange.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, the war has caused incomprehensible losses: millions of displaced citizens, thousands of dead and wounded, as well as the destruction of untold buildings and houses, to say nothing of entire cities and towns. Another victim is Ukraine’s wine culture, which has blossomed in recent years after decades of neglect—and intentional destruction—under the Soviet Union.

The rise in popularity of natural wines has left consumers in a haze of ambiguous terms and wishy-washy regulations. For instance, what are the symbols gracing the back of the wines’ labels? Rather than grabbing a bottle based on grape preference, the new consumer is buying wine based on the production method, moving away from the conventional, and opting for a unique experience. They’re also shunning wines made with unnecessary chemicals and intervention for a cleaner drinking experience.

Wine is one of the most prominent alcoholic drinks in the world with approximately 260 million hectolitres produced globally in 2020 (via Statista). The mass production of modern-day wine marks contemporary demand as extremely high, yet the beverage has been consumed for millennia. According to National Geographic, the oldest evidence comes from Georgia, where wine production is proved to have occurred 8,000 years ago. Throughout history wine has remained popular; Cleopatra was known to submerge herself in red wine, while the ancient Greeks and Romans worshiped the god of wine Dionysus. 

You probably know rosé, but what about orange wine? DavidChoi, proprietor of Magna Carta Cellars and Angel Falls Wines in California, who also shares wine tips on TikTok and Instagram (as @winewithdavid), shares the lowdown on this hot trend.

With its booming popularity, versatility at the table, and range of styles in which it’s made, rosé has become a year-round staple of most beverage programs. But consumers’ seasonal drinking preferences also make rosés an essential wine list feature when temperatures warm in the spring and summer.

There’s a red grape you may be hearing more about in the Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic in coming years. It’s not new – in fact, it’s one of the oldest wine grapes in the world. It’s saperavi, native to Georgia in the Caucasus Mountains, where archaeologists have unearthed evidence of winemaking dating back 8,000 years. Yet while it is one of the world’s most ancient grapes, saperavi’s story, including how it came to America, reverberates through today’s headlines.

To say that interest in the orange wine category has exploded over the last few years would be a complete understatement. But while its popularity in the U.S. may have begun as a growing trend among natural wine enthusiasts, its diverse flavors have been treasured around the world for ages.

On a hilltop in Tbilisi, the buzzy capital of Georgia, stands a 65-foot statue, Kartlis Deda (“Mother of Georgia”). She holds a sword to fend off attackers in one hand and, in the other, a bowl of wine to welcome friends in a typically Georgian fashion.