Amber Wine vs Orange Wine
Internationally, many people say orange wine. In Georgia, amber wine is often the more natural and precise term. The technique is closely related, but the cultural meaning is not identical.
In an official 2025 statement, the National Wine Agency of Georgia explained that Georgian amber wine refers to wine fermented and aged with long maceration on the grape solids. The same statement notes that amber wine has also received a formal place in the OIV classification of special wines.
That matters because in Georgia, amber is not just a marketing color. It is a technical, cultural, and historical term that often sits underneath what international audiences call orange wine.
The same official source also states that amber wine was first produced in Georgia around 8,000 years ago. UNESCO's recognition of qvevri winemaking adds to that context and shows that the Georgian version of this style is not a recent trend but a living tradition.
In practice, orange wine is the broader international phrase. Amber wine is often the better term when talking about Georgia, especially when the wine is tied to qvevri, local varieties, and a long continuity of skin-contact white winemaking.