If You Missed National Orange Wine Day, These Are The Rare Amber Bottles Serious Collectors Are Hunting Down
Although it's passed, you can still celebrate National Orange Wine Day with rare skin-contact bottles from Gravner, Radikon, and Zidarich.
Orange wine has a way of making an entrance. First comes the color, anywhere from glinting gold to deep, burnished amber. Then comes the grip, and then the slow realization that the glass has a great deal more to say than its looks let on. National Orange Wine Day, on October 6, is the perfect excuse to meet the category at its most luxurious: the long-aged Ribolla reserves of Friuli’s Joško Gravner, a 2006 Radikon blend whose name translates to “outside of time,” Zidarich’s coastal Vitovska from the Carso and an amphora-aged Zibibbo from the volcanic island of Pantelleria.
The style itself is ancient. Orange wines are made from white grapes left to ferment with their skins, which lends them some of the structure of a red while letting them keep their own aromatic personality. They can be floral, mineral, deeply savory or layered with dried fruit and spice, and at the top end they are some of the most profound, age-worthy wines in Italy. (Fair warning: Gravner himself famously dislikes the term “orange wine.” Call it amber in his presence.)
These six bottles were chosen for their patience, their provenance and their personality. Although Orange Wine Day passed on October 6, you should definitely still be imbibing.
Photo Credit: Savchenko/Shutterstock.com
Gravner “R11” Ribolla Riserva 2011
Oslavia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
If one bottle deserves to open the conversation, it’s this one. Gravner makes its Riserva only in vintages that merit it, from a selection of the best Ribolla at harvest, and R11 takes the estate’s famously patient method to remarkable lengths. The wine ferments on its skins in buried Georgian amphorae, rests six years in large oak and then waits another seven in bottle before release. It’s bottled only in magnum.
All that time shows. Dried apricot, candied fruit, beeswax and wild herbs lead into a savory, structured palate with real tannic grip. This is not a bottle to pour and forget. It’s one to sit with over a long dinner and let unfold course by course.
For collectors interested in the summit of the category, there are few more persuasive starting points.
Magnum only; expect to pay roughly $400 or more, depending on market.
Haute Living Verdict: The bottle you open when the guest list deserves it. Thirteen years in the making, worth every one.
Gravner “R10” Ribolla Riserva 2010
Oslavia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
R10 is the companion piece to R11 and the reason serious Gravner collectors buy reserves in pairs. It comes from the same exacting approach, the same magnum-only release and the same years of quiet aging, but a different growing season. Tasted side by side, the two vintages offer a rare look at how one producer’s philosophy plays out across consecutive years.
At this age, the salty-savory character comes forward and the mineral core asserts itself as the primary fruit settles. It’s the kind of purchase that gives a cellar a little more purpose: a specific vintage, a specific release and a good reason to plan an evening around it.
Magnum only; listed at $395 by U.S. retailer Leon & Son.
Haute Living Verdict: Buy it with R11 and host the vertical tasting your friends will talk about for years.
Radikon Oslavje “Fuori dal Tempo” 2006
Oslavia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
“Outside of time” is about as evocative a name as a wine can have, and this mature Radikon lives up to it. A blend of Chardonnay and Sauvignon, the 2006 has spent two decades developing ripe yellow fruit, dried fruit and balsamic notes, with hints of honey and caramel over a broad, savory palate.
It earns its place through sheer maturity and character, and for anyone drawn to texture and developed aromatics, it’s an especially rewarding bottle to track down.
One note when shopping: Radikon uses its own distinctive bottle sizes, so compare formats carefully. The liter bottling cited here has sold out at the listed retailer, so specialist merchants are your best bet.
Listed European retail: €175 for 1 liter; availability limited.
Haute Living Verdict: Twenty years of patience in one glass. Hunt it down while you still can.
Gabrio & Giotto Bini Serragghia Zibibbo Secco 2022
Pantelleria, Sicily, Italy
Pantelleria gives this list a welcome change of scenery. At Serragghia, Zibibbo from old vines on the island’s volcanic soil becomes a dry, amphora-aged wine that tastes vividly of its place: citrus, flowers and the sea.
The 2022 opens with lemon, lily and caper blossom over a saline, fruit-forward core. It’s an aromatic, sun-drenched counterpoint to the mature Friulian reserves on this list, and proof that skin contact can be as bright as it is profound.
For anyone ready to explore beyond Friuli, this is the bottle.
Listed European retail: €105 for 750 ml.
Haute Living Verdict: A Mediterranean island in a glass. Pour it with crudo and pretend you’re on a boat.
Gravner Ribolla 2016
Oslavia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
Gravner’s regular Ribolla deserves a seat at the table beside the reserves. “Regular,” in this case, still means months of fermentation on the skins in buried amphorae, a return to clay and then six years in large oak before release.
The 2016 is the ideal way into the estate’s philosophy, with the same long aging and unmistakable style as the reserves at a fraction of the price. For an October 6 dinner, opening it alongside one of the Riservas makes for a fascinating comparison.
Listed Spanish retail: €99.95 for 750 ml.
Haute Living Verdict: The most accessible way to drink a legend. Start here, then trade up.
Zidarich Vitovska “V Collection” 2018
Carso, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
Zidarich’s V Collection is a premium expression of Vitovska, the Carso’s native white grape, made only in years the estate considers exceptional. The 2018 sees skin maceration and 22 months in barrel, emerging with a broad, layered profile of flowers, fruit and marine notes.
Its deep amber color and substantial texture deliver everything you want from an ambitious orange wine, and its coastal, limestone-driven character adds another dimension to the lineup. It’s a fitting bottle for October 6, and one worth returning to long after.
Listed European retail: €80.80 for 750 ml.
Haute Living Verdict: Sea breeze, stone and serious structure. The Carso’s finest calling card.
Prices reflect individual retail listings at the time of writing and exclude shipping. Confirm vintage, bottle size and availability before purchasing.
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Frequently Asked Questions
When is National Orange Wine Day?
National Orange Wine Day is celebrated every year on October 6.
What is orange wine?
Orange wine, also called amber or skin-contact wine, is made from white grapes fermented with their skins, the way red wine is made. The skins give it its golden-to-amber color, more texture and grip, and flavors that can range from floral and mineral to savory, nutty and dried-fruit rich.
Why is Gravner’s Ribolla Riserva so expensive?
Gravner makes its Riserva, labeled “R” plus the vintage’s last two digits, only in exceptional years from its best fruit. The wine is fermented on its skins in buried Georgian amphorae, aged six years in large oak and then seven more in bottle, and it’s released only in magnum.
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