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White Wine Varietals - Be an Expert!

By: Jennifer de Jong

The world of white wine can be tricky. It's hard to know what you like without first sampling a taste. This profile of white wine varietals will help you to choose wine that fits your taste profile and how to pronounce the names correctly to avoid any embarassing wine shop moments.

Bordeaux wine (white) Pronunciation: bore-DOUGH: The Bordeaux region in France is renown for its red wines, but it also produces excellent white wines, made with Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon grapes.

Burgundy wine (white): Burgundy is a region in eastern France that produces excellent red and white wines. Some of the better wine-producing areas in Burgundy are Chablis and Pouilly-Fuissé, both of which produce exquisite white wines from Chardonnay grapes. Burgundy wines produced in the United States are usually inexpensive blends of different grape varieties.

Chablis Pronunciation: shah-BLEE: If made in France, this is a very dry, delicately flavored white wine that's made with Chardonnay grapes. It's great with seafood, especially oysters. If made domestically, like a California Chablis, it's a sweet and cheap jug wine.

Chardonnay Pronunciation: shar-duh-NAY: This elegant white varietal wine is crisp and dry, and great with seafood, poultry, ham, egg dishes, salads, and any dish with a rich cream sauce. California Chardonnays are often excellent. Substitutes: Pinot blanc OR Chablis (French Chablis wines are made with Chardonnay grapes.) OR Muscadet OR vermouth (Use this substitute for cooking, not drinking. Use dry vermouth only.)

Chenin blanc = White Pinot: This is a grape variety that's often blended with others to make inexpensive white jug wines and domestic Chablis. It's relatively inexpensive and goes well with salads, seafood, poultry, ham, and spicy foods.

French Colombard: This is a variety of grape that's often made into white jug wine.

Gewürztraminer Pronunciation: guh-VURTZ-trah-mean-er: German and domestic versions of this white wine are somewhat sweet, flowery, and relatively low in alcohol. They're very good with curry and spicy Asian food. Imports from Alsace tend to be drier and are excellent with seafood and poultry.

Johannisberg Riesling Pronunciation: yoh-HAHN-iss-berg REEZ-ling: This is a grape variety that produces a fragrant, fresh-tasting white wine that's great with ham, sausages, smoked fish, shellfish, or spicy Asian food. It's the grape that's used to make excellent Rhine wines in Germany. Don't confuse these excellent wines with domestic Riesling wines, which are usually made with inferior cousins of the Johanissberg Riesling grape. Late harvest Johannisberg Rieslings are very sweet, and make excellent dessert wines.

Muscadet Pronunciation: moo-skuh-DAY: This is a district in Brittany, France, that produces a crisp, light white wine that's especially good with seafood. Always serve it chilled. Don't confuse this with Muscatel or Muscat, which are both dessert wines.

Pinot blanc Pronunciation: pee-noh BLAHN: This is a good, but unexceptional, dry white wine that's good with seafood and poultry.

Pinot Grigio = Pinot gris: This is a dry white wine that goes especially well with seafood. Pinot Grigio is the Italian name, Pinot Gris the French.

Pouilly-Fumé = Fumé de Pouilly = Pouilly-Fume = Fume de Pouilly Pronunciation: pooh-YEE few-MAY: This is a highly regarded dry white wine.

Pouilly-Fuissé Pronunciation: pooh-YEE fwee-SAY: This is an area in the Burgundy region of France that's renown for its exquisite white wines. Made with Chardonnay grapes, these wines are great with seafood and hors d'oeuvres. Notes: Chardonnay

Retsina Pronunciation: ret-SEE-nah: This is a white Greek wine that's flavored with pine resin. It's popular with Greeks, but hasn't caught on elsewhere. It should be served at room temperature.

Riesling Pronunciation: REEZ-ling: If made in Germany or Alsace, a Riesling is a very good, somewhat sweet white wine. If made in America, it's usually a so-so white wine that's usually made from Sylvaner = Franken Riesling, Gray Riesling and Emerald Riesling grapes, mediocre varieties which coast on the reputation of their superior relative, Johanissberg Riesling.

Sauvignon Blanc = blanc fumé = blanc fume Pronunciation: so-vee-NYOHN BLAHN: This light white wine is often described as having a "grassy" flavor. It's terrific with seafood, poultry, and other delicately flavored dishes.

Sémillon = Semillon Pronunciation: say-me-YOHN: This is a grape variety that's sometimes developed into a dry white wine, sometimes into a excellent dessert wine.

Viognier Pronunciation: vee-ohn-YAY: This assertive white wine from California exudes a complex perfume of flowers and fruit. It's expensive and hard to find, but it's delicious with seafood and poultry.

Vouvray Pronunciation: voo-VRAY: This is a slightly sweet French white wine made with Chenin blanc grapes.

Article Source: Main Articles

Jennifer de Jong is a long time wine drinker, enjoyer of wine, and non-wine-snob. She is the founder of Vino Vixenz. A snob-free zone to learn wine tasting.

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