A Waitaki winery is experimenting with an ancient wine technique to produce orange wine.
Orange wine was first produced about 5000 years ago in Georgia. The wine was made when white grapes, with seeds and skins included, were mashed up and placed in a container and left for a period of time with little to no additives included in the ingredients list, website Wine Folly says.
During the process the wine's colour changed to orange.
Kurow Estate Winery general manager Renzo Mino said the orange beverage addition would not replace any of the wines made at the estate.
"This is just an experiment.
"We're trying something different because we're not mainstream.''
The first vintage was 2016 and it was hoped it would be released for sale in 2017.
"I started drinking it already. So far it's tasting all right.''
His first tasting experience with orange wine was not a good one, but with perseverance he found ones that pleased his palette.
"When you're drinking a wine you're searching for an experience more than a taste''
Estate sales and business development representative Brendon Pringle fell in love with orange wines while working in the United States.
"This is why I'm here. People are flipping over these wines.
"When done badly they're terrible, but when done well they're some of the greatest wines on the planet.''
Mr Pringle's family used to own the property the estate was built on just outside of the Kurow township.
"Now I'm drinking wine that came right from the soil.''
He was a fan of the hands-off approach associated with orange wine.
"The more processes wine goes through it strips the wine ... it strips the life out of wine.''
He described orange wine as complex and the best food wine on the planet.
"It's very much popular among hipster wineries,'' he said.
