Taste Guide: Orange Wine Cask

Orange wine is a wine made from green or yellow grapes using the whole-bunch fermentation method; in other words, it is a white wine produced in the same way as red wine. The grapes are fermented with their skins and seeds, thereby extracting more tannins and colouring agents than is the case with white wine. Orange wine has a dark yellow to orange colour and is often slightly cloudy. It is described as the fourth wine colour alongside red, white and rosé. The wines vary greatly in appearance, aroma and taste. Orange wine is predominantly sold at a higher price point. The most traditional orange wine is quevri wine made from white grapes.
Orange wine is often mistakenly equated with natural wine or amphora wine; however, all three terms are distinct from one another. An orange wine is not automatically a natural wine or amphora wine, and vice versa. Furthermore, orange wine should not be confused with fruit wine made from oranges, such as the Spanish Tarongino.(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

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In 2023, Kilchoman purchased orange wine casks from a cooperage for the first and, to date, only time. There were just two casks available; no more were on offer, making this cask type one of the rarest used by Kilchoman.

Both casks were used in June 2023 to finish two 100% Islay bourbon barrels from 2018.

In January 2025, the German Kilchoman importer Hanseatische Weinhandelsgesellschaft Bremen then released the first of these finishings for the German Comraich bars.

The whisky was enthusiastically received by Kilchoman fans. The orange wine cask imparted a very special, sweet fruity note to the Kilchoman distillate, unlike anything experienced with red or white wine cask maturations.

The rarity of these cask type and the distinctive flavour of the whisky matured in it made this bottling a prime candidate for a Kilchomania.com release, and indeed, by the end of 2025, we were able to acquire Kilchoman’s second Orange Wine Cask Finish.

Like its sister cask 1229/2018, our cask was also filled with the slightly less peated 100% Islay distillate, which certainly benefited the fruitiness. Decanted on 20 June 2023 and bottled on 7 January 2026, our bottling has a finish that is a good year longer than the Comraich release. This made the whisky slightly spicier and more complex, whilst retaining its sweetness and fruitiness.

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Kilchoman Orange Wine Cask releases:

ReleaseCask No.Date FilledDate BottledMaturation
100% Islay Orange Wine Finish [for German Comraich Bars]1229/201804.11.201801.12.2024Finish: 17 months
100% Islay Orange Wine Cask Finish for Kilchomania.com1230/201804.11.201807.01.2026Finish: 30 months

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