Orange Is…

Orange is...

"New Noir," the new Orange Wine from Maison Noir!

The wine has hardly been released—winemaker André Mack simply posted this picture on Instagram last week and already 20,000 of his Social Media fans have "Liked" it.

Of course people would like it. "New Noir" is a brilliant play-on-words of the Neflix hit, "Orange is the New Black," and a double entendre meaning the "New" wine from Maison Noir. It's also a natural fit for one of the most hip winemakers to make this trending wine style.

Like André says, when you're confident in your craft, you can dare to be playful. And André sure knows what he's doing—the French Laundry/Per Se experience. The recent James Beard nomination. The New Yorker accolades for his culinary ventures.

Now over a decade as visionary and winemaker of Maison Noir Wines, André has proved his playfulness works. Based on his simple Instagram launch, you can tell "New Noir" is going to take off just like his other wines.

"New Noir" has plenty of wine cred, too. André describes it as "a skin contact 'Northwest Edelzwicker' of sorts," an allusion to the 1644 Alsatian term for white wine blends of the noble varieties Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer and Muscat.

André includes all of these varieties (sourced from Oregon) plus a dash of Pinot Blanc (which has been permitted in Edelzwicker blends since the 1970s). Skin contact gives "New Noir" the Orange hue and modern vibe.

André sums it up as "a diabolical blend of 50% Gewurztraminer, 28% Pinot Gris, 12% Riesling, 5% Muscat, and 5% Pinot Blanc. Stone fruit potpourri, racy acidity with a sprinkle of molten salt!"

"New Noir" 2020 lands in California next week. If it's a fit for your program, I encourage you to pick some up soon as Maison Noir has sold out of the 2020 Rosé and Pinot Gris already.