Orange wine for an orange 'president'

 

The Orange president in London's Parliament Square......
(above and below)

 

Simon Woolf  – Amber Revolution

Last Friday (13th July 2018) London saw the largest ever demonstration against a foreign leader when an estimated 250,000 people marched against the visit of Donald Trump to the UK. There were other demonstrations that day and over the weekend elsewhere.

Although amber Trump is apparently teetotal the arrival of our copy of Simon Woolf's Amber Revolution seems timely – orange wines to enjoy during a Trump protest! It also coincides with David's visit to Georgia.

Like a increasing number of other wine books, especially those that break new ground, Simon's book was Crowdfunded. Before Simon considers suing me and Les 5 du Vin Blog for defamation I should make it very clear that the only possible connection between the abominable oaf that is the current president of the USA, albeit hopefully briefly, and amber wine is colour.

From Simon Woolf's Preface:
'Conundrums aside, orange wine's time has well and truly come – bottles are proudly displayed on the shelves of countless independent wine merchants, in fashionable wine bars and top-flight restaurants as never before. The technique resists mass-production, requiring considerable patience and skill to execute properly, so these wines will never dominate supermarket shelves – but producers across the globe are now almost as likely to have an experimental 'orange' in their line-up as they are a traditional method sparkler or a late harvest dessert wine. (Jim - not sure why Simon insists on using term 'dessert wine' when the sensible term is sweet wine.)
Yet for all of the exponential growth of interest, a great deal of myth, superstition and plain old ignorance still surrounds the style. Its origins and rich heritage, in particular, have received very little love from the great and the good of the wine world.

Amber Revolution is an attempt to right that wrong and to distil a significant body of knowledge about this wonderful and unique beverage into one just about digestible volume. The greater part of the book delves into the histories of people, places and culture from orange wine's heartlands: Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Slovenia and Georgia. The persona stories of the winemakers in these regions are as rich and colourful as the wines they produce, and provide the all-important context for their output.

Just two decades ago it would have been impossible to write a major book about orange wine – it didn't even have a name. The explosion of availability, popularity and acceptance of the style unquestionably represents a revolution, whatever shade or hue it might be dubbed.'

 

Huge crowd @start of the march by the BBC in Langham Place