The famous British wine magazine Decanter rated Dolium Muscat Ottonel, made by Slovenian wine maker Bozidar Zorjan, as the best orange wine in the world.

Bozidar Zorjan in his vineyard in Tinjska Gora. (photo: Kaja Sajovic, MMC RTV SLO)

Decanter has compiled a list of the thirty best orange wines that you can buy in wine shops worldwide. Zorjan’s Dolium Muscat Ottonel 2017 was put on top of this prestigious list.

Orange wine, also known as skin-contact wine and skin-macerated wine, is the biggest thing in wine these days, replacing rosé in the hearts of hipsters and wine aficionados. It’s made from white-wine grapes where the skins have been kept on for weeks or even months, as opposed to being quickly removed. This contact gives adds flavor, pigment and tannins and gives orange wine its distinct color.

Decanter described Zorjan’s Dolium Muscat Ottonel 2017 with the following words: ‘Fermented and aged more than two years in Georgian qvevri, the aromatics of this quirky bottle are subtle and elderflower-like.’

Zorjan is a small biodynamic estate in the Stajerska region of Slovenia, near the city of Maribor. Bozidar and his wife Marija have been farming their small estate since inheriting it in 1980, but grew increasingly unhappy with conventional agriculture. Conversion to organic and then biodynamic farming followed in the 1990s. In 1995 Bozidar and Marija decided to go one step further. They felt that amphorae would be the ideal choice for fermenting the wines. Bozidar and Marija initially sourced amphorae from a Croatian producer, but following his death decided to switch to Georgian qvevri, which are buried under the stars outside their winery.

Zorjan’s Dolium Muscat Ottonel 2017. (photo: Kaja Sajovic, MMC RTV SLO)