White Wine Styles

Here is a quick way for most people to determine what type of red wine they are going to enjoy.

How do you like your lemonade? Determining your preference in white wine is all about your sensitivity to sugar and acidity.

I like it as sour as I can get it.

You are going to want to look for very dry white wines, such as Pinot Blanc, Chenin Blanc (be certain they say dry or sec) and Pinot Gris.

I like it on the tart, but not sweet side.

Riesling, when it is produced dry, is going to be one of your favorite wines. As will those above when produced in Alsace.

I like a perfect balance, not too sweet, not too tart.

Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are for you, which is good, but they are very easy to find, and come in many different styles.

I like it on the sweeter side.

Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Muller-Thergau are all sometimes made in a sweeter style you will enjoy. Moscato, a sparkling Muscat wine from Italy is likely to be a favorite.

I like it very sweet.

There is an entire class of wines for you to try: Dessert Wines. Many of them are not overly sweet and can be perfect with food, not just with dessert.

I hate lemonade, it is always too sour.

Stick to the dessert wines and, especially if you dont like sweets either, perhaps skip the white wine for red.

White Wine Grapes

Color: From clear as water to a straw yellow. Green tinges are not unheard of, especially in youth. With time and oxidation, a golden color is common.

Fruit: A wide variety of fruit flavors are represented in white wines. Lychee nut, peaches and tropical fruits are all common.

Tannins: Since white wine is made with minimal skin contact, there is almost no tannin associated with the grapes. There is tannin that results from oak aging, but they are much lighter than the tannins associated with red wines.

Astringency: Some white wines exhibit signs of astringency, a drying out of the mouth. This is mostly found in Rhone whites and the richest Chardonnays.

Off Tastes as Smells:

Wet cardboard - Corked wine.

Wet horse blanket - Brett, a common bacterial spoilage, in smaller concentrations it is more like dirt than merde. Much rarer in whites than in reds.

Slight sparkle - if it is slight it is dissolved CO2, if it is accompanied by a wet forest floor smell, than it is Malo-Lactic fermentation in the bottle.

Wine Making Flavors:

Malo-Lactic Fermentation - The process of changing the sharp malic acid (in apples) into the softer lactic acid (in milk). The process also leaves the by product DIACETYL, the taste of butter.

Oak - If it is complex with cloves and woody spices, it is French oak. If it is forward with vanilla, it is American oak. If it is musty it is from old barrels.

Oxidation - Caramel, or a burnt sugar smell. Deep golden hues in the wine are another hint. This is most common with older white wines.

Blending - While not always obvious, a wine that tastes complex may have been blended with several grape varieties.

Climatic Characteristics:

Hot weather - A deep rich flavor lacking in acidity or bright fruit. The hotter the region the more flabby (less acidic) the wines tend to be. Because of the overripe fruit, and the propensity to oxidize hot fruit, the color tends towards golden shades of yellow.

Cool weather - Cool growing conditions pronounce the acidity. If the fruit is picked too early, it will be sharply acidic. If they are picked too late, there is a chance of damage from freezing.

Temperate weather - If it is not too hot nor too cool, the ideal grape varieties are those with long growing seasons. A balance between acidity and sugar levels are more easily accomplished.

Note: In white wine especially, modern winemaking techniques help to counteract many of the shortcomings of climate.