Major White Wine Varietals
When it comes to white wines, the perfect pour comes in many varieties – and nearly as many hues and flavor profiles. Familiarizing yourself with their characteristics will help you make the most of your wine tasting experience (and up your wine IQ in the process!) Cheers to that.
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Chardonnay
Widely-grown and appreciated, Chardonnay is a winemaker and consumer favorite. Winemakers appreciate Chardonnay’s vigor in the vineyard and ability to adapt to myriad soil types and climates, while consumers like the variety’s medium-bodied structure and flavor palette that takes as well to oak aging as it does to more minimalist styles of winemaking. Unoaked versions are increasingly in vogue; look for more renderings of the grape henceforth in its "naked" form.
Color
Pale straw to medium gold.
Aromas & Flavors
Watch for notes of apples (green, yellow, red, even baked versions), pears, lemon (from fresh to meringue and custard preparations), tropical fruits and white flowers; in heavier and oaked versions also look for toast, baking spice, popcorn, butter and vanilla.
Food Pairing
Medium acidity means Chardonnay’s a solid match for an array of foods. Top pairings include oysters, lobster prepared in lemon and butter, and quiche.
Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon Blanc isn’t as broadly consumer-friendly as Chardonnay, and its adherents wouldn’t have it any other way! Naturally high in acidity, this white wine appeals to tasters who look for lots of zip in the glass. And though this light-bodied, effusively aromatic charmer is most often made sans oak maturation (the better to appreciate its bright fruit character), a handful of winemakers raise heartier versions known as Fumé Blanc (fumé means "smoked") in oak barrels.
Color
Pale straw with green tint; oaked versions boast more golden hues.
Aromas & Flavors
Watch for citrus fruits (grapefruit, lime, lemon), green and vegetative notes (think freshly mown lawn, meadow grass, snap peas), honeysuckle and melon. Crisper versions may show mineral or wet stone notes, while oaked versions will offer toast, cream, smoke and spice.
Food Pairing
Most who try it find that Sauvignon Blanc is a brilliant partner on the table for the likes of shellfish, salads and other light fare.
Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio
Pinot Gris, which means "gray Pinot" (the variety is a naturally occurring mutation of Pinot Noir), produces white wines that are by turns medium-bodied and fruity (the Ital-inspired versions) or full-bodied and spicy (those made in the French mold). To confuse matters a bit further, newly popular renderings from Oregon manage to slide stylistically in between Italian and French versions of the grape! In California, winemakers are putting their own unique stamp on the variety.
Color
Pale to medium gold; some versions have a brassy pink hue due to the dark skins of this variety that some winemakers allow to deepen the color of the wine.
Aromas & Flavors
Italian renderings tend to be straightforward with low-intensity aromas, while versions from elsewhere often pack more aromatic punch. Watch for varied aromas and flavors including citrus, apple, pear and peach fruits; spicy notes and musky floral tones shine through in more aromatically assertive bottlings.
Food Pairing
Lighter versions pair well with a host of white meats and simple cream-based pastas; richer versions work with smoked cheeses, rich meats and Indian fare.
Riesling
Riesling is a show-stopper in the aroma realm (the word "lovely" comes readily to mind); add to this quality laser-sharp acidity and you have the makings of a precociously talented white wine. Long underappreciated, light-bodied Riesling is making a comeback these days thanks to renewed interest in the variety on the fine dining scene. Versions from Germany come in widely varied levels of sweetness, while many made elsewhere boast dry flavor profiles, making them a cinch to pair with food.
Color
Pale straw with green tint; older and sweeter versions boast more golden hues.
Aromas & Flavors
In younger wines, look for candied citrus peel, apricot and peach, tropical fruits, honey and flowers. Depending on where it’s grown, the wine may also show stone or mineral notes, while older versions show off the variety’s signature gasoline or petrol aromas – trademark signs of mature Riesling!
Food Pairing
Thanks to its bright acidity and food-friendly flavors, Riesling pairs with a wide array of foods from shellfish, pork and duck to Chinese, Thai and Indian fare.
Other White Wines
Gewürztraminer
Though gewürz means "spice" in German, this full-bodied white wine is far more floral than spicy, layering fascinating notes of rose water over lychee fruit, baked apple and pear, and other exotic smells. Hailing originally from Alsace and Germany and now home in California and beyond, Gewürz pairs especially well with curry.
Viognier
Full-bodied and musky, Viognier is a headily perfumed white wine with red wine-like structure (low acid, higher alcohol). Newly popular on California’s Central Coast (though long a big deal in France’s Rhône Valley), Viognier pairs intense notes of cobbler peaches, apricot and pear with baking spice and floral undertones.
Marsanne & Roussanne
Along with Viognier, these two full-bodied whites call France’s Rhône Valley home, though all are now produced on California’s Central Coast. Roussanne is known for its elegant notes of lime blossoms and herbs, while Marsanne boasts marmalade aromas alongside tangy lime skin, spice, and a hint of the savory.
Grüner Veltliner
Grüner – as this Germanic white wine is so often called – is nowhere more at home than in Austria. There and in select other spots, it produces crisp white wines with moderate alcohol, sometimes substantial weight and complex vegetal, white peach and pepper notes. Stony minerality usually underpins its flavor profile.
Arneis
Northern Italy’s Arneis is a new darling on the international winemaking scene, cropping up in vineyards in a host of other countries thanks to its full body and beguilingly floral flavor profile. Offering an unusual combination of rose, pear, herb and almond notes, Arneis can be a compelling stand-in for Chardonnay.
Muscat
This ancient variety has been around for millennia, and is today made in myriad styles ranging from dry to sweet to sparkling and even fortified. One of its most famous manifestations is Italy’s ethereal Moscato d’Asti; wherever it’s made, it offers precocious notes of musk, table grapes, orange essence and flowers.
Albariño
Made popular in northwestern Spain’s Galicia, Albariño is a medium-bodied white wine that’s as versatile as it is crowd-pleasing (no doubt the one follows the other). Sometimes oaked and sometimes not, Albariño offers creamy texture alongside cool flavors of apple, banana and a salty note; a great partner for Mexican fare.
Pinot Blanc
Pinot Blanc loses a lot of star wattage to more exuberant whites like Riesling, Gewürz and Viognier, though it can produce characterful wines in the right hands. Look for medium body, bright acidity and food-friendly flavors of apple, lemon squirt, nuts and a hint of the vegetative. Another solid stand-in for Chardonnay.
Torrontés
Torrontés is a lemony light- to medium-bodied white currently making a mark on Argentina’s wine scene thanks to its cheerful aromatics. Believed to hail from Spain, the variety offers pretty notes of flowers, green apple, herbs, peach, passion fruit and lychee; pair it with seafood, Asian and Mexican fare.
Sémillon
A decidedly fleshy white known for signature honeyed aromas and flavors, Sémillon is nowhere more famous than in Bordeaux, where it’s the main ingredient in unctuously sweet Sauternes. On its own in dry renderings in the U.S. and beyond, it offers subtle aromas of lemon, apricot, apple, fig, honey wax and toast.
Chenin Blanc
A native of France’s westerly Loire Valley, Chenin Blanc is a high-acid white that shines with the right food pairing. Offering a red apple-driven nose backed by vibrant lemon squirt and honey notes, Chenin is made in dry, sweet and sparkling versions alike; top food matches include goat cheese and apple tart.
Courtney Cochran is an entrepreneur and author living in San Francisco. Her book, Hip Tastes: The Fresh Guide to Wine (Viking Studio), was named the Georges Duboeuf Wine Book of the Year. Find her on Twitter (@HipTastesMaven) and at courtneycochran.com.
