Technically, orange wines are exclusively made from white grape varieties, by prolonged contact of skin and seeds from the berry with grape juice (must) during fermentation, thus creating deeply colored white (orange) wines. As a result of prolonged contact of the skin (membrane of the grape berry) and the seeds with the wine, in a process that oenologists call maceration, we get very characteristic, but rustic wines, full-bodied with a lot of additional aromas and flavors, as well as a significantly richer, once more robust texture. Maceration, by the way, is a standard technique in the production of red wines. Very unusually for white wines, this process also extracts tannins that further strengthen the structure, giving them greater potential to age longer. Maceration can last several weeks, months or even a whole year. In short, yes, that's how orange wines are made. After maceration, the liquid part is separated and it is time to squeeze, and it is placed in amphorae or barrels.
-- Babba, however, is not made like that. A unique technology is applied in the case of this wine, which is applied only by us at the Maurer winery - explains the winemaker, Oskar Maurer. Fermentation is actually the birth of wine, and then the must turns into wine. Natural winemakers ferment spontaneously, i.e. they do not use selected, purchased yeasts, but rely on naturally occurring yeasts from the vineyard. It is not a difficult job for them, because in organic or biodynamic vineyards, there is no spraying with systematic, strong fungicides, which would destroy those naturally present yeasts before harvest, of which there are approximately 40 different strains on the berries, and which themselves help fermentation. Babba is a light white wine at the beginning - from the Bacator, Rhine Riesling, Medenac Beli and Furmint varieties - which are essentially the foundation of this wine. After three or four days of maceration, we strain the wine, which descends by gravity into the cellar and ages in a barrel or amphora for a year. After that, at the next harvest we already have a nice dry, white wine, which we again put on the berries of the most beautiful bunches, those that are of the best quality that year. The beautiful story of energization begins again - three days of maceration, fermentation starts again, and thanks to the maceration the wine will have a fuller taste, full of extracts. Tamjanika will add its fragrance, and Sremska zelenika will add its freshness. After that, the wine is returned to the cellar. Next year, the whole process is repeated again. This means that for three years in a row we risk spontaneous fermentation, but nature has not let us down yet. In Babba you have more antioxidants, it has a full body, a fruity taste, and it is completely resistant to oxidation. She is like a battery, after the third year she is full: she is finished.
Babba – a name to remember
As for the name, Babba comes from Sumerian mythology, in Gilgamesh babba was the goddess of birth and new life. They prayed to her that the child would be born healthy. In Transylvania to this day they pray to Babba Maria when a child or even a calf is born. But that's where the midwife comes from, both in Serbian and Hungarian, who accompanies childbirth. And frankly, we needed Baba's blessing, because spontaneous fermentation is risky and once, not even three times in a row, every year.
Etiquette
The label depicts a mystical woman who connects the world of goddesses and gods with the human world. She is a priestess who is at our service to connect us with the heavenly world.