White Wines for Beginners

Jan 26 2010

Published by ama at 12:14 pm under types wines

For those who are just beginning to explore the wonderful world of wine, you may find yourself confused by the huge variety of wines – reds, whites, bubbly, blends – and the many, 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 common varietals (types of grapes), tell you what to expect from each of them and what distinguishes them from each other.

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is certainly the most consumed white wine in America – in fact, it’s quite commonly the only white wine many wine lovers consume. Chardonnay is commonly the first white wine a new wine fan will sample, largely because it is so easy to enjoy. Chardonnay is usually on the dry side, meaning that it’s not very sweet, and it typically has flavors of vanilla, apples, tropical fruit, and butter, and degrees of oak, depending on where it was produced. “White Burgundy”, from France, is almost always 100% Chardonnay. Many other wine regions across the world produce Chardonnay, including Australia and Chile. It’s quiteeasy to find good choices of American Chardonnay available for under $20. Popularand consistently reliable producers include BV, Chateau St. Michelle, and Columbia Crest, among others.

Sauvignon Blanc

Sauvignon Blanc, sometimes called Fume Blanc, is another favorite white wine. Sauvignon Blanc is often characterized as “freshly mown”, meaning that it reminds the taster of freshly mown grass. It is a medium-bodied white wine with fruity aromas like peach, grapefruit, and melon, and is dry and refreshing with medium acidity. Sauvignon Blanc is a wonderful summer wine, especially good with seafood and it’s one of the best all around matches for light snacks and picnics. Babich (New Zealand) offers a very nice Sauvignon Blanc for under 15 dollars.

Pinot Grigio

Pinot Grigio, sometimes called Pinot Gris (the actual grape’s name), is Italy’s most popular white wine, and is popular throughout the world, although the Italian Pinot Grigios are somewhatbland. Pinot Grigios are easy to drink, having a crisp, light taste. The Pinot Gris offerings from Oregon tend to have more character, offering medium body, with more pronounced fruit and more acidity. Better bottles have fruity flavors of pear, apple, honeydew and some spice. A couple of very nice Pinot Gris from Oregon, available at 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 considerably different styles – dry and sweet. Rieslings are categorized by the ripeness of the grapes when picked. Kabinett indicatesnormally ripe grapes, and is a light to medium-bodied, mostly dry wine. You’ll sometimesfind 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, somewhatsweeter, wine. “Auslese”, which means late harvest, is made from even more ripe grapes, and is often quitesweet. Rieslings are typically fruity, with peach, honeysuckle, and apple tastes and floral undertones. Rieslings are relatively inexpensive – you can find excellent selections for under $10. One reliably goodchoice is Strub Niertsteiner Riesling Kabinett, in addition toChateau Ste. Michelle Riesling.

Gewurztraminer

Gewurztraminer is another very popularGerman white wine, while also being produced in the U.S., France, New Zealand, and Australia. Gewurztraminer is also madein both dry and sweet styles. Gewurztraminers have a bold, full-bodied taste, much more so than most other white wines. Typical aromas commonly found inGewurztraminer are lychee nuts and rosewater, and its flavors include pear, apricot, cinnamon, and honey. A nice, inexpensive Gewurztraminer is produced byTrimbach (France, under $15).

A final note

The best way to determine your preferencesin white wine is to just buy a selectionof bottles, and give them a try. 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 very helpfulwith finding solid, yet inexpensive choices. Once you find a varietal and style 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 don’t improve with age, so you probably should not keep them around for years. However, you dowant to be sure to store your wine properly, so they maintainthe wonderful flavors and aromas you appreciate. You might think about investingin an small wine cooler, to keep all your wines at their absolute best.

White wines are best served moderately chilled, so it’s a good idea to refrigerate them beforehand, then remove themaround 15-20 minutes before serving. Better yet, you might want topurchase an electric wine chiller, which will chill (or warm) a single bottle of wineto the right temperature automatically – just set the pre-programmedwine varietal, pop in the bottle, and the chiller will automatically cool (or warm) your wine to the optimal temperature, and maintain that temperaturethroughout your wine tasting.

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