“Orange” Wine at Shaw Vineyard

Shaw Vineyard announced today the arrival of its first vintage of “orange” wine, Shaw Vin d’Orange, a unique wine product that is among the first of its kind in the Finger Lakes.“I enjoy taking risks in the vineyard as well as the winery,” says Steve Shaw, owner and winemaker of Shaw Vineyard. “Orange wines are gaining a following in Europe and I believe that the Finger Lakes, with its tradition of aromatic white wines, can compete with the growing consumer demand for unique wines. The orange wine project was a risk worth taking.”Orange wine is a white wine made like a red, with the juice given extended skin contact before pressing that leaves the wine with a rusty, orang-like color and a complex tannic structure similar to some red wines. Traditionally, orange wines have been made throughout Europe’s wine regions, but they are particularly popular in Eastern Europe. Orange wines are light enough in style to please most white wine drinkers but their added flavors offer a lot of variations that most wine consumers should enjoy.“From my research, this is among the first orange wines to be marketed in the Finger Lakes,” says Steve Shaw, a 34-year winegrower and 20-year winemaker who founded Shaw Vineyard in 2002. “I thought the conditions were right in this past vintage (2013) to make orange wine, and it’s an experiment I’d like to continue in future vintages.”For the 2013 special label of Shaw’s Vin d’Orange, Steve Shaw dedicated part of his Sauvignon Blanc crop and all of his Gewürztraminer crop, creating two separate orange wines in order to truly explore the unique style. The first wine, 2013 Vin d’Orange Sauvignon Blanc, will be released on August 1, 2014, with the Vin d’Orange Gewürztraminer available for sale in September.Both wines will be available in the Shaw tasting room only and will be limited to two bottles per customer. Located in Himrod, NY on the west side of Seneca Lake, Shaw Vineyard boasts 22 acres of vines overlooking Seneca’s waters. The tasting room and production facility are open seven