Speaking of wine, terms like "quaffable," "crushable," "bouquet," and "aroma" are often thrown around interchangeably, along with "tasting notes" and "flavor descriptors." Two other wine-related terms that you may often hear referred to in the same breath are "skin-contact" and "orange wine," stirring up the question of whether they refer to the same thing.

Sarah Favinger, an industry veteran previously with Brooklyn-based wine store Smith & Vine, offers some clarity. While all orange wines undergo skin-contact during the production process, not all skin-contact wines end up as orange. The color spectrum of wines made with skin contact can be quite varied.

What we most often call orange wine essentially amounts to white grapes that have soaked for an extended period with the skins, resulting in a distinct orange tinge, Favinger explains. This technique resembles red wine production where the skins of red grapes are macerated to give the wine its dark shade. In contrast, shorter skin-contact periods will usually yield rosé wine from red grapes.

However, not all white wines that undergo skin contact emerge orange - shorter soak periods tend to create paler-hued wines. According to Favinger, these limited skin contacts can enhance the aroma, flavors, and texture of the wine.

Skin contact is often employed in natural wine-making processes as it guards the wine against flaws and reduces the need for sulfur during bottling. For orange wines or skin-contact wines, the grapes are pressed, stomped, or crushed after harvest, then left to ferment with the skins still in the juice. The maceration duration influences the wine's flavor and tannin level - the longer the contact, the more pronounced these elements become.

'The orange wine trend is global, with varieties such as Pinot Gris, Zibbibo (Muscat), Xarel-lo, and Macabeo often used, as well as some Georgian varieties like Rkatsiteli, Chinuri, Kisi, and Krakhuna,' reports Favinger. Georgia is renowned for producing orange wines, but the practice is catching on worldwide, especially in Italy - specifically Sicily and Friuli-Venezia - and extending to southern Slovenia and Catalonia.

Orange wines are known for their prominent mouthfeel and are often associated with notes of citrus, dried fruits, and herbs. Favinger notes that the tannic quality imparted by skin contact gives these wines a unique texture.

The exploration of skin-contact and orange wines is an exciting venture into uncharted territory. As Favinger points out, the more these winemaking techniques are honed, the wider the range of wine color possibilities becomes - blurring the boundaries between white, orange, rosé, and red wines.

This world of distinct flavors can be enjoyed in wines like a skin-contact Pinot Grigio, which is macerated for 4 to 8 hours, or a skin-contact blend of Chardonnay, Viognier, and Muscat that’s macerated for seven days. Then there are orange wines like an organically farmed blend of local varieties that get macerated for 12 days, or a 100% Kisi that is macerated with the skins for six months.