Unico Zelo

What does skin contact wine taste like?

Skin contact wines are white wines that have their skins left on for longer during the winemaking period, which allows for a greater depth of flavour. At Unico Zelo, our Funkworks range includes amber wines (also known as skin contact or orange wines) with fruity and floral tastes, but depending on the variety, amber wine can have a variety of flavour profiles. Some people remark that amber wines have the freshness of white wines, yet also manage to have the richness of reds, which is hard to achieve with a traditional white wine.

What is the difference between wine types?

On our Vinous Awesomeness, you can find out about the different types of wines created by Unico Zelo. But there are some basic differences between each wine. White wines can be made with either white, red or black grapes, sometimes a mixture, and they become white because the red pigments are extracted, leaving a fresh and light flavour profile. Red wines are made with the full grape, skin and seed included, and are fermented at a higher temperature to give it the colour, depth of flavour and a rich aroma. You can also get variations such as rosé and amber (aka orange or skin contact) wine which have their own unique production methods, and sparkling, which is either made with naturally occurring bubbles or ones that are added from CO2.

What makes a good wine?

Your taste in wine is as unique as you are! However, there are some things that are generally thought to make ‘good’ wine. The way you taste wine can be affected by a lot of factors, from the amount of tannins – a high amount can make a wine feel too dry – and the acidity – low acidity wines tend to feel richer and more complete. It’s not always the most expensive wine that’s best. Many unique Australian wines such as the ones we stock at Unico Zelo have great reviews. If you take a look at our descriptions, you should get an idea of whether they’ll taste good to you. 

What wines are the Adelaide Hills known for?

Adelaide Hills has moved from an underdog region to at the forefront of South Australian wine, Originally known for Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris, some of the more popular grape varieties, alongside Chardonnay and Pinot Noir receiving, so it’s a great place to find loads of unique and interesting wines - and in the last 10 years, with the emergence of Natural Wine out of the Adelaide Hills (particularly in the Basket Range sub-region), it’s become even easier.

What does skin contact wine taste like?

Skin contact wines are generally known as white grapes that have their skins left on for longer during the winemaking period - basically the same way as red wines are made with red grapes!  At Unico Zelo, our Rip Tear Share and Funkworks ranges includes amber wines (also known as skin contact or orange wines), which are full of ripe stone fruit flavours and fresh floral aromatics. Some people remark that amber wines have the freshness of white wines, yet also manage to have the richness and full palate weight of reds. While some examples are definitely a bit funky and left of centre, it is becoming more and more of an established category of wine in Australia. 

What is the difference between wine types?

That’s the joy of wine - there’s just so much of it. Thousands of different grape varieties that can be crafted in a menagerie of different styles but we can run down the basics! Check out our Vinous Awesomeness to see the wine varieties and styles we make!

White Wines: Crafted from White Grape varieties (think Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling or for us, Fiano!), these wines receive minimal skin contact and are most often pale yellow in colour. These wines are best enjoyed cold.

Rosé Wines: Most often wines crafted from Red Grape varieties that receive minimal skin contact much like white wines. These wines will vary in colour from pale pink to garnet ruby depending on skin contact. Best enjoyed cold.

Red Wines: Crafted from Red Grape varieties (think Shiraz, Pinot Noir, Grenache or for us, Nero D’avola!), these wines receive extended skin contact of varying degrees affecting the wines tannin levels. These wines are most often, best enjoyed at room temperature.

Skin Contact/Amber/Orange Wines: Crafted from White Grape varieties, these wines receive extended skin contact of varying degrees. The wines colour varies from bright and full yellow to deep orange and amber (hence the name!). These wines are best enjoyed chilled.

Sparkling Wine: Sparking wine can be crafted from all grape varieties in a myriad of styles, whether it be Pet-Nat (sparking wine that has been captured partway through natural ferment), Champagne (still wine dosed with yeast and sugar in bottle) or Prosecco (still wine dosed with yeast and sugar in tank) - a very wide category!

What makes a good wine?

Ha! A Loaded Question! While we have wine award shows, wine critics and price differences for us to discuss what is a good wine, there is only two things that we really care about at Unico Zelo. 1: Drinkability. How much do you enjoy drinking this wine? Does it put a smile on your face? Do you want another glass? And in tandem with that is 2: You. At the end of the day, gold medals and 100 point wines are awesome, but what’s more awesome is if you like it. It could be an awesome vintage of Domaine de la Romaneé-Conti, or it could be the cheapest Riesling you found at your local bottle shop. It doesn’t matter as long as you enjoy it, no matter how old it is, how much it cost or what grape it was made from.