For those who are just starting to experience the wonderful world of wine, you may find yourself confused by the vast variety of wines – reds, whites, bubbly, blends – and the multitude of choices within each of those broad categories. We'll choose just one of those for this brief intro – white wines. We'll give you a short tour of the most popular varietals (types of grapes), tell you what to expect from each and what distinguishes them from each other.

 

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is definitely the most enjoyed white wine in America – in fact, it's claimed to be the only white wine many wine drinkers consume. Chardonnay is quite often the first white wine a new wine explorer will sample, largely because it is so likable. Chardonnay is typically on the dry side, meaning that it's not very sweet, and it usually has flavors of vanilla, apples, tropical fruit, and butter, and varying degrees of oak, depending on the winery where it was produced. “White Burgundy”, from France, is almost always all Chardonnay. Many other wine regions around the world produce Chardonnay, among them Chile and Australia. It's quiteeasy to obtain good choices of American Chardonnay available for under $20. Well-knownand consistently good producers include Beaulieu Vineyards, Chateau St. Michelle, and Columbia Crest, among others.

 

Sauvignon Blanc

Sauvignon Blanc, also known as Fume Blanc, is another favorite white wine. Sauvignon Blanc is often described as “freshly mown”, indicating that it reminds the drinker of freshly mown grass. It is a medium-bodied white wine with noticeably fruity aromas like peach, grapefruit, and melon, and is dry and refreshing with medium acidity. Sauvignon Blanc is a particularly nice summer wine, especially good with seafood and it's a perfect match for light snacks and picnics. Babich (New Zealand) offers a very nice Sauvignon Blanc for under 15 dollars.

 

Pinot Grigio

Pinot Grigio, also 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 can be a littlebland. Pinot Grigios are easy to drink, having a crisp, light taste. Oregon's Pinot Gris tend to have more character, offering medium body, with more pronounced fruit and more acidity. Better bottles have fruity flavors of apple, pear, honeydew and a bit of spice. A pair 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 probably 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 signifiesnormally ripe grapes, and is a light to medium-bodied, mostly dry wine. You'll sometimessee the word “trocken” on a bottle of Riesling, which is German for "dry". "Spatlese" is made from grapes picked later, and results in a bit richer, somewhatsweeter, wine. “Auslese”, which means late harvest, is made from even more ripe grapes, and is usually verysweet. Rieslings are typically fruity, with peach, honeysuckle, and apple flavors and floral undertones. Rieslings are relatively inexpensive - you can find excellent selections for under $10. One consistently very goodchoice is Strub Niertsteiner Riesling Kabinett, as isChateau Ste. Michelle Riesling.

 

Gewurztraminer

Gewurztraminer is another well-knownGerman white wine, while also being produced in Australia, New Zealand, France, and the U.S. Gewurztraminer is also madein both dry and sweet styles. Gewurztraminers have a bold, full-bodied taste, considerably more so than most other whites. Typical aromas associated withGewurztraminer are rosewater and lychee nuts, and its flavors include pear, apricot, cinnamon, 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 just try them for yourself. For each varietal, you'll want to choose a bottle that's representative of the style you're investigating. Websites like Wine.com can help immenselywith finding solid, yet inexpensive choices. Once you find a varietal and producer you like, you might want to pick up 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. You do, however,want to be careful to store your wine safely, so they keepthe wonderful flavors and aromas you anticipate. You might want to investin an small wine cooler, to keep all your wines at their best.

White wines are best served moderately chilled, so you might want to refrigerate them beforehand, then remove themabout 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 optimal temperature automatically – just select the pre-setwine varietal, pop in the bottle, and the chiller will cool your wine to the right temperature, and keep your wine at the right temperaturethroughout your wine tasting.

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