Orion Wines

At A Glance

Country: Italy
Founded: 2010
Founders: Alessandro Michelon, Elena Ciurletti
Winemaking team: Six full-time winemakers
Model: Partner growers and wineries across Italy

The Producer

Alessandro Michelon and Elena Ciurletti founded Orion Wines in 2010. Michelon oversees winemaking with a team that travels throughout Italy, while six full-time winemakers from different Italian regions contribute to the work.

Orion maintains commercial relationships with a limited number of growers and wineries in several Italian areas. It works with those partners and their winemakers from vineyard work through vinification, packaging and marketing.

Wines

The Wanted Zin is made from 100% Primitivo. Half of the wine spends eight months in American oak barriques, bringing cherry and blueberry fruit together with coconut, vanilla, roasted spice and soft tannins. Its finish carries spice and bright fruit.

Zensa Nero d’Avola Appassimento is 100% Nero d’Avola. Twenty percent of the grapes dry naturally in aerated lofts for 10-15 days, while the remainder is picked 10-15 days later; both portions are then vinified together. Twenty percent of the wine spends four to five months in oak barriques. Cherry, prune and blackcurrant lead into powerful fruit, a velvety texture and a persistent finish.

Zensa Primitivo is made from 100% Primitivo. Thirty percent ages for eight months in second-use American and French oak barriques. Cherry, dried berries and toasted almond appear on a full-bodied, silky palate, followed by spiced cherry, bright fruit and earthiness.

Final Word

Orion excludes animal-derived products from production and returns mown weeds and grass to the soil as organic fertilizer.

At A Glance

The Producer

Wines

Final Word

Sources

Where to go next