White Wines for Beginners
For those who are just starting to experience the wonderful world of wine, you may find yourself confused by the huge variety of wines – whites, reds, blends, bubblies – and the many choices within each of those broad categories. We’ll choose just one of those for this brief intro – white wines. We’ll provide a short tour of the most well-known varietals (types of grapes), tell you what you can expect from each of them and what sets them apart from each other.
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is certainly the most consumed white wine in America – in fact, it’s claimed to be the only white wine many wine fans consume. Chardonnay is quite often the first white wine a beginning wine fan will sample, largely because it is so easy to enjoy. Chardonnay tends to be on the dry side, meaning not very sweet, and it tends to have flavors of apples, tropical fruit, vanilla, and butter, and a varying amount of oak, depending on how it was produced. “White Burgundy”, from France, is almost always 100% Chardonnay. Many other wine regions across the world produce Chardonnay, including Chile and Australia. There are many good choices of American Chardonnay available for under $20. Well-knownand consistently reliable producers include BV, Chateau St. Michelle, and Columbia Crest, and others.
Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon Blanc, sometimes called Fume Blanc, is another very popular white wine. Sauvignon Blanc is quite often characterized as “freshly mown”, meaning that it reminds the taster of freshly mown grass. It is a medium-bodied white wine with noticeably fruity aromas like grapefruit, melon, and peach, and is dry and refreshing with medium acidity. Sauvignon Blanc is a great wine for enjoyment in summer, especially good with seafood and it’s one of the best all around matches for light snacks and picnics. Babich (New Zealand) produces a very nice Sauvignon Blanc for under 15 dollars.
Pinot Grigio
Pinot Grigio, also referred to as Pinot Gris (the actual grape name), is Italy’s most popular white wine, and is popular throughout the world, although the Italian Pinot Grigios are typically a littlebland. Pinot Grigios are easy to drink, due to their crisp, light taste. The Pinot Gris offerings from Oregon tend to have more character, offering medium body, with more readily noticeable fruit and more acidity. Better bottles have fruity flavors of pear, apple, honeydew and some spice. A pair of very nice Pinot Gris from Oregon, available for between $12-$18, are Chateau St. Michelle and King Estate, among others.
Riesling
Riesling wines are generally considered the most popular German wine, and they are produced in two vastly different styles – dry and sweet. Rieslings are categorized by the ripeness of the grapes when picked. Kabinett signifiesnormally ripe grapes, and is a light to medium-bodied, mostly dry wine. You’ll sometimessee the word “trocken” on a bottle of Riesling, which is German for “dry”. “Spatlese” is produced from grapes picked later, and results in a bit richer, somewhatsweeter, wine. “Auslese”, which means late harvest, is made from an even riper grape, and is typically quitesweet. Rieslings are typically fruity, with peach, honeysuckle, and apple flavors and floral undertones. Rieslings are relatively inexpensive – you can find excellent offerings for under $10. One reliably very goodchoice is Strub Niertsteiner Riesling Kabinett, as well asChateau Ste. Michelle Riesling.
Gewurztraminer
Gewurztraminer is another very popularwhite wine from Germany, while also being produced in France, the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand. Gewurztraminer is also madein both dry and sweet styles. Gewurztraminers have a bold, full-bodied taste, much more so than most other whites. Typical aromas commonly found inGewurztraminer are rosewater and lychee nuts, and its flavors include apricot, honeysuckle, and honey. A nice, inexpensive Gewurztraminer is available fromTrimbach (France, under $15).
A final note
The best way to determine your preferencesin white wine is to just pick out a samplingof bottles, and just try them. For each varietal, you’ll want to choose a bottle that’s representative of the style you’re investigating. Websites like Wine.com can be immensely helpfulwith finding solid, yet inexpensive choices. Once you find a type and producer you find particularly enjoyable, you might want to buy a case to have handy for entertaining, or to just enjoy at home. Most white wines do not improve with age, so you won’t want to keep them around for years. You do, however,want to be sure to store your wine properly, so they maintainthe wonderful flavors and aromas you appreciate. You might think about investingin an inexpensive wine fridge, to keep all your wines at their best.
White wines are best served moderately chilled, so you may want to refrigerate them beforehand, then take them outabout 15-20 minutes before serving. Better yet, is topick up an electric wine chiller, which will chill (or warm) a single bottle of wineto the right temperature automatically – just set the pre-programmedwine varietal, insert the bottle, and the chiller will automatically cool (or warm) your wine to the optimal temperature, and maintain that temperaturethroughout your wine tasting.