White Wines for Beginners
For those who are just beginning to explore the wonderful world of wine, you may well be confused by the amazing variety of wines – reds, whites, blends, bubblies – and the multitude of choices within each of those broad categories. We’ll select just one of those for this brief intro – white wines. We’ll give you a short tour of the most common varietals (types of grapes), tell you what to expect from each of them and what sets them apart from each other.
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is definitely the most popular white wine in America – in fact, it’s reportedly the only white wine many wine fans consume. Chardonnay is quite often the first white wine a beginning wine explorer will discover, largely because it is so likable. Chardonnay is most often on the dry side, meaning not very sweet, and it tends to have flavors of tropical fruit, apples, vanilla, and butter, and a varying amount of oak, depending on the winery where it was produced. “White Burgundy”, from France, is nearly always pure Chardonnay. Many other wine regions around the world produce Chardonnay, among them Australia and Chile. There are many good choices of American Chardonnay available for under $20. Popularand consistently reliable producers include Beaulieu Vineyards, Chateau St. Michelle, and Columbia Crest, among others.
Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon Blanc, sometimes called Fume Blanc, is another very popular white wine. Sauvignon Blanc is often described as “freshly mown”, meaning that it reminds the taster of freshly mown grass. It is a medium-bodied white wine with fruity aromas like grapefruit, melon, and peach, and is dry and refreshing with medium acidity. Sauvignon Blanc is a wonderful wine for enjoyment in summer, especially good with seafood and it’s one of the best all around matches for light snacks and picnics. A very nice choice, for under 15 dollars, is made by Babich (New Zealand).
Pinot Grigio
Pinot Grigio, sometimes referred to as Pinot Gris (the actual grape name), is Italy’s most popular white wine, and is popular around the world, although the Italian Pinot Grigios are typically somewhatbland. Pinot Grigios are easy to drink, because they have a crisp, light taste. Oregon’s Pinot Gris tend to have more character, offering medium body, with more pronounced fruit and more acidity. Higher quality bottles have fruity flavors of apple, pear, 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 probably the most popular German wine, and they are produced in two extremely different styles – dry and sweet. Rieslings are categorized by the ripeness of the grapes when picked. Kabinett is made fromnormally ripe grapes, and is a light to medium-bodied, mostly dry wine. You’ll sometimessee the word “trocken” on a bottle of Riesling, which means “dry” in German. “Spatlese” is made from riper grapes, and results in a bit richer, slightlysweeter, wine. “Auslese”, which means late harvest, is made from an even riper grape, and is often quitesweet. Rieslings are typically fruity, with apple, peach, and honeysuckle tastes and floral undertones. Rieslings are relatively inexpensive - you can find excellent selections for under $10. One consistently goodchoice is Strub Niertsteiner Riesling Kabinett, as well asChateau Ste. Michelle Riesling.
Gewurztraminer
Gewurztraminer is another popularGerman white wine, while also being produced in the U.S., France, New Zealand, and Australia. Gewurztraminer is also producedin both dry and sweet styles. Gewurztraminers have a brazen, full-bodied taste, considerably more so than most other whites. Typical aromas found inGewurztraminer are rosewater and lychee nuts, and its flavors include honeysuckle, apricot, pear, and honey. A nice, inexpensive Gewurztraminer is available fromTrimbach (France, under $15).
A final note
The best way to find your favoritesin white wine is to just pick up a coupleof bottles, and give them a try. For each varietal, you’ll want to choose a bottle that’s typical of the style you’re wanting to experiment with. Websites such as Wine.com can be very helpfulwith finding solid, yet inexpensive choices. Once you find a type and producer you find particularly enjoyable, you might want to pick up a case to have handy for entertaining, or to just enjoy at home. Most white wines do not improve with age, so you shouldn’t keep them around for years. You do, however,want to be sure to properly store your wine, so they maintainthe wonderful flavors and aromas you expect. You might think about investingin an small wine refrigerator, to keep all your wines at their best.
White wines are best served chilled, so it’s a good idea to refrigerate them beforehand, then remove themabout 15-20 minutes before serving. Better yet, you may want tobuy a single bottle electric wine chiller, which will chill (or warm) a single bottle of wineto the optimal temperature automatically – just select the pre-programmedwine varietal, insert the bottle, and the chiller will automatically cool (or warm) your wine to the right temperature, and maintain that temperaturethroughout your wine tasting.
