Do you drink white wine? Do you know about the types of grapes you’re drinking and their characteristics?
Perhaps this descriptions of the Top Ten types of white wines and grapes will add to your appreciation.
Types of White Wine and Their Grapes Harvested Around the World
White wine grapes are harvested in a number of regions world-wide. The USA primarily grows white wine grapes in its Northwestern regions of California, Oregon, and Washington State, but vineyards and wineries are also found in New York and other less-known locals through the country. (Let us know what other areas you’ve found those grapes.)
Europe has many regions that are quite conducive to growing white grapes, such as in France, Italy, Germany, and Austria. They are also found in most of the rest of the world, too.
Top 10 Types of White Wine and Their Grapes
The flavor, characteristics, and types of white wine can vary widely and is largely dependent upon the white grape variety used in its making; the most widely-used white wine grapes in today’s winemaking include:
Chardonnay
voluptuous characteristics
Throughout the 1990’s the Chardonnay was the most widely used type of white wine grape and is easily considered to be “Queen” of the white grapes. Having the most complex, voluptuous characteristics of all white wine grapes, it makes a wonderful, full-bodied, golden, stand-alone drink with its flavors and aromas having hints of butter, cream, citrus, vanilla and oak. Wines made from this grape have medium- to high-acidity. It’s a versatile white wine grape that is frequently used to make sparkling wine and champagnes.
Regions:
The Chardonnay grapevine can grow under a variety of conditions, which means that it is grown in many wine producing regions. The vine originated in Bourgogne, France and continues to be used in their Burgundy white wine offerings. The plant is also grown in California, Washington State, and Oregon in the United States, as well in the countries of France, Australia, Italy, Moldavia, South Africa, Argentina and Chile.
Chenin Blanc
Wine jugs?
The Chenin Blanc grape is an acidic grape that is used best in making sweet, aged wines as is done in the Anjou Valley of France. The grape has a greater than average level of acidity. White wines typically do not do well with aging, making Chenin Blanc quite unique in that way; it can age well for 10 years or more. California wines made from the Chenin Blanc plant are typically not aged and do not have the quality of the French version; California Chenin Blanc grapes are usually bottled into jug wines or table wines. Characteristics of a Chenin Blanc will thus vary, but one might describe it as fruity and light.
Regions:
Chenin Blanc originated thousands of years ago in France’s Loire Valley and continues to be cultivated there today. Plants are also grown in California (used in jug wines), Mexico, Argentina, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
Note: The Chenin Blanc plant is known as “Steen” in South Africa; other names for it are Pinot Blanco or White Pinot.
Gewurztraminer (Ge-vertz-tra-meener – see the post here on How to Pronounce German Wine Words, or easier, use Ge-vertz for short)
Look at all the German words you can learn to pronounce
Originating in Germany, the Gewurztraminer grape is best described as one of the world’s most intensely flavored and aromatic grapes creating wine that ranges in taste from spicy (Gewurztraminer literally translated means spicy) and nutty to peachy and floral. The grapes are usually used to make either a very sweet wine or a very dry wine, both with bold flavors and crisp acidity.
Regions:
The Gewurztraminer plant is primarily cultivated in Germany and France’s Alsace region, but it is also grown in Italy, Australia, Canada, and in New York and California in the United States.
Pinot Grigio or Pinot Gris
A cellar
The Pinot Grigio white wine grapes typically produce a wine that is quite light-bodied with a lemon or other citrus aroma and flavor, but its acidity varies by growing region. A Pinot Grigio made by European wine makers tend to be slightly more acidic than those found in the United States. Pinot Grigio types of white wine tend to improve with a couple of years in the wine cellar. In comparison to Chardonnay types of white wine, a Pinot Grigio is significantly lighter.
Regions:
The Pinot Grigio grape is cultivated extensively in Northern Italy, Germany, Australia, and the west coast regions of the United States, i.e., California, Oregon and Washington State.
Riesling
Riesling grapes produce a fresh wine with hints of apples, apricots, and flowers and mid- to high-acidity. In comparison to Chardonnay, Riesling is a much lighter wine. Riesling types crisp, dry and fruity wines from grapes that have been left to mature longer on the vine.
Regions:
The Riesling grape is native to Germany where it is used to make the classic sweet Rhine wine, but it is also grown in nearly all wine regions. Dry Rieslings are a favorite in the Alsace region of eastern France and Rieslings processed in Washington state rival their European cousins.
Sauvignon Blanc same as Fumé Blanc
Sauvignon Blanc (aka Fumé Blanc) grapes typically produce a light, tangy wine with grassy, sour apple and tropical fruit flavors having a crisp, light- to medium-acidity. Wines which bear the title Fume Blanc are modeled after the Loire Valley wines, with a more subtle elegance.
Regions:
The Sauvignon Blanc grape is primarily cultivated in France’s Bordeaux region where it is blended with Semillon grapes. It’s also grown in the Loire Valley of France, as well as in California, where it began as the brainchild of renowned winemaker Robert Mondavi, as a way of circumventing the negative image held by the Sauvignon Blanc grape in California at the time, Australia, and New Zealand.
Semillon
The Semillon grape is rather unique in that it has a distinctly figgy, grassy flavor and it is rarely used in the making of a stand-alone wine. The unripe grape is often blended with other grapes, such as Sauvignon Blanc to help balance out the strong Semillon flavors. In the Bordeaux region, mature Semillon grapes are blended with Sauvignon Blanc grapes to produce sweet, full-bodied wines (Barsac and Sauternes) that may be world-class.
Regions:
Semillon is grown in the Bordeaux region of France, as well as in Chile, Australia, Argentina, and California.
Viognier
The Viognier grape produces a complex, medium-body, low- to medium-acidity wine with flavors and aromas that hint of apricots, peaches, and spice, but without the floral aromas found in other types of white wine.
Regions:
The Viognier grape originated in the Rhone Valley of France and continues to thrive there today. This varietal is also grown in California, South America and Australia.
Moscato
The Moscato (aka Muscat and Muscatel, among several others in a family of grapes) is an extremely grapey flavored grape that is used to make fruity, sweet, dessert wines that carry a hint of musk. Its aroma is often that of the grape itself. As well, this grape is used to make Italy’s Asti Spumanti, a sparkling wine.
Regions:
The Moscato grape is grown in most grapevine growing regions, including Italy, France (the Rhone Valley), and Austria.
Pinot Blanc
Although the Pinot Blanc grape is a mutation of the Pinot Grigio grape that produces a very light wine, Pinot Blanc makes a white wine that is very similar in flavor to a Chardonnay.
Regions:
The Pinot Blanc grape is cultivated in Alsace (Italy), in Austria where it’s referred to as Weissburgunder, (see the post on How to Pronounce German Wine Words) and in California where it is used to make sparkling wines.
Champagne
Suprisingly, of the three type of vines that are authorized to be cultivated for use in Champagne: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier only the first one is a white grape. Although the others are black grapes, the juice comes out white.
Regions:
Only wines produced in France, with a few exceptions in California, are allowed to be called Champagne. Elsewhere it must be labeled Sparkling Wine. (See our post, Things to Know About Champagne).
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