The natural wine realm is booming, particularly on Australian shores. You’ll find this category making its way onto menus at many a fine dining restaurant, and in some of the best bars across the sunburnt country. In fact natural wine is now proving so popular that a growing number of focused stores are cropping up. Within this branch sits Joel Amos’ drnks.com, an online-only store that focuses on the drops that are organic or biodynamic, and made with limited to no additives.

The most popular of natural wines would have to be orange wine. But what exactly is it? “[It’s] white grapes that have been in contact with their skins,” says Amos. “A good analogy is it is exactly the same as how most red wines are made (the juice is clear and colour is derived from the skins) but this process uses white grapes.”

If you are curious as to the creative process of orange wine, Amos describes it as follows; “grapes are either crushed or pressed and then the skins are placed back with the juice, or the grapes are left to ferment as whole bunches,” he says. This process also means that orange wine is most similar to reds. “Given the tannin and flavour profiles derived from the skins and other phenolics the wines often have a lot more in common with light red wines,” Amos explains.

To get you started on the road to orange wine fandom, Amos suggests you begin with a bottle of the five following stand-outs:

Yetti and the Kokonut,
Vini di Giovanni Vementuzzo
Occhipinti SP68 Bianco
Borachio Flatout
Limbo Sauvignon Blanc