Albert Heijn expands wine range: more natural wines and orange wine
Albert Heijn’s wine shelves feature 39 new wines. Notably, the range also includes natural wines and orange wines. What exactly are these wines? We explain.
Orange wine
Orange wine, as it is known worldwide, is truly very different from anything you’ve tasted before. Simply put, it’s white wine with a bite. Orange wine is made from white grapes that have had extended contact with the skins (and sometimes also the seeds and stems). This produces an orange-coloured wine (hence the name) with the characteristics of a red wine (a deeper, more intense colour and more tannins and bitterness) as well as the freshness of white wine.
The name was coined in 2004 by an Englishman who was looking for a term to describe this style of white wine—which, incidentally, has been around for several thousand years.
A delicious food wine
A good orange wine is juicy and soft, with aromas of peach and honey. And it’s ideal with food: orange wine pairs well with meat, but also with vegetables and fish. Albert Heijn has carried the South African Daschbosch Skin Contact (€12.99) for some time. New additions include Famille Paillet Emotion Vin Orange Bio and Midi par Mas Vin Orange Bio. These new wines cost €8.99 per bottle (0.75 litres).
Natural wine at Albert Heijn
Natural wine, also known as ‘vin nature’, is made as naturally as possible. Natural wine goes far beyond organic wine. These wines are made from hand-picked grapes grown organically or biodynamically, without artificial fertilisers or pesticides. To preserve the flavour, the juice is neither clarified nor filtered, which is why natural wine is often somewhat cloudy. Stabilising sulphites are not used either. With conventional wine, such interventions are used extensively.
Albert Heijn’s range of natural wines is growing from 2 to 4 wines. The white and red natural wines from the Argentine brand Santa Julia—priced at €12.99 and featuring eye-catching labels—are joined by a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Garnacha from the Chloss Terroir brand (€8.79).
Also read:
