Orange Is the New Wine This Season!
It’s new wines buzz time as we welcome onboard Radikon’s orange wines that is all the rage worldwide and have just landed in India with the promise to dazzle the palate .
The near infinite universe of wine is never devoid of surprise and creative enterprise – it is in fact driven by these two elements that have rewarded wine enthusiasts with contrarian delights like sparkling red wines, Ripasso and of course the age-old fortifieds. And there’s one invention among them that’s been making a strong comeback on the able shoulders of winemakers in Italy’s cool north. Ever heard of orange wines? Yes it’s a thing, a raging one and we’ve just shipped in a whole bunch of them styles, giving the evolving Indian palate a first ever taste of orange wines. Give a warm vinous welcome to Radikon, an Italian family estate based in the town of Oslavia in the Italian region of Friuli that has just come aboard the Wine Park selection. Orange wines are essentially white wines produced using a unique method of extended skin contact, fermentation as well as ageing in barrel that imparts a wider spectrum of flavours and the distinct orange colour. Radikon is a pioneering maker of orange wines (also known as skin contact wines), a style the family estate has mastered and nurtured for over thirty years and hold the credit for bringing the category back into the limelight and for putting the Friuli-Venezia Giulia at the centre of the wine world’s attention.
Wine Park head Vishal Kadakia said he had been looking forward to introducing orange wines to the Indian market for a long time since he first tasted these styles in Singapore and later in Paris where natural orange wines have become quite popular in recent years. “I was fascinated by the colour and palate of orange wines and the story behind how these wines are made. The fact that white wines can be produced in a style similar to red wines and bring out a unique flavour character in them. I loved these natural orange wines and believed these were ripe for launching in India,” Vishal said. fermented using natural yeast and a minimal to nil use of sulphur. The wines selected from the estate’s range, available in India now include the Radikon, SLATNIK Bianco 2022, a sumptuous Chardonnay blend that crackles with cherries, baked orange peel, and roses. There’s also the Radikon, SIVI Bianco 2022, a Pinot Grigio style, barrel aged and tasting of pear and citrus, finishing clean and Radikon, RS 22 Rosso 2022, a full bodied barrel aged Merlot blend. The three Radikon wines are available in retail and on premise in Maharashtra and will subsequently be launched in Karnataka.
The family estate’ founding winemaker Stanislao (Stanko) was widely regarded as one of Italy’s first champions of orange wine. After Stanislao’s passing in 2016, his son Saša Radikon took over the reins. Radikon makes orange wines from local grape Ribolla Gialla and international varieties planted on eighteen hectares of organically farmed vineyards rooted in marbled limestone and clay soils. The grapes are handpicked (yields are kept well below 2.25 tons per acre) and left on their skins for eight to fourteen days for the purpose of initiating skin maceration. Wild yeast fermentation takes place in old, large barrels and the wines are matured in Slavonian oak barrels for a minimum of one year and further bottle aged for at least four months. There is no sulfur added during vinification or bottling. Radikon’s philosophy is to “always make a natural, organic wine with the least human intervention possible and with the maximum respect for the soils and nature.”
The Wines:
Radikon, SLATNIK Bianco
This sumptuous Chardonnay led blend expresses flavours of macerated cherries, baked orange peel, and roses. The palate boasts of rich texture tempered by subtle acidity and clean finish.
Radikon, SIVI Bianco
A unique Pinot Grigio style aged in barrels for 15 months that impart a tinge of copper to its colour, this exuberant white wine has a palate of pear and citrus and hints of cherry, good acidity and pleasant character.
