Forever seeking grape varieties and wine styles that deepen the understanding of the Estate vineyards, Brennan has been toiling with the skin contact white wines since 2017. With Emma Bennet’s thirst for knowledge on the style, she completed back to back vintages in Slovenia, a wine region that boasts a history stretching back over two millennia, this is what winemakers refer to as “old world”.  

All the white wines in the past were orange. It’s modern techniques and processes that produce table ready white wines. The term orange wine describes a process where the grape skins are not removed, and stay in contact with the juice during the fermentation process giving the wine an amber or orange colour. 

The strongest take home of knowledge from The Balkans was from winemakers deciding to produce orange wines from many different grape varieties, mostly local or regional specialties.  The Brennan Orange skin-contact is focused on Brennan white specialities, Muscat, Gewurztraminer which are not commonly found in New Zealand.  

The 2025 vintage showcases aromatics and textural flavour profiles. Apricot, iced tea and fresh ginger on the nose lead to a textural mouthful of juicy grapefruit, fresh grated orange pith, and quince. 

-       Co-fermented whole berry Muscat, Gewürztraminer and Pinot Gris  

-       Fermented on skins for two weeks

-       Matured in tank for three months on lee

-       producing 790 bottles.