Updated November 2021
Learn about White Wine
So you’ve got your favorite red wines but have never really enjoyed drinking white. Or maybe you’ve never approached white wines because you don’t know where to start. Are there such things as wines for beginners?
Whatever the case may be, now is a perfect time to get into white wine! Read our guide on White Wine for Beginners to get started.
Reasons to love white wine
- Wider variety of flavors and styles versus Reds
- More options for food pairing
- Great to drink chilled on warm days
- No stained teeth or clothing
- Fun, different styles (orange, skin contact)
Variety in Varietals
The aromas and flavors of white wines are extremely unique and diverse! Start with these varietals to start establishing your palette:
1. Chardonnay
One of the six “noble grapes”, Chardonnay has many unique styles depending on the terroir, winemaker style. The grape is planted all over the world and is very popular to use in sparkling wines for beginners, including Champagne.
A typical Chardonnay from Sonoma or Napa that has gone through malolactic fermentation may have a big mouth feel with aromas of butter, popcorn and oak while one from Chablis will feature citrus, oyster shell and wet stone. There’s no correct style, it just depends on your taste, and maybe what your eating (we’ll get to that later).
Regions to try:
2. Riesling
You may have heard that Rieslings are sweet and that would only be half true. Rieslings vary in styles ranging from bone dry (0 – 0.2% residual sugar) to sweet dessert style (5-15% residual).
With the variable sweetness and high acid, Rieslings are awesome to pair with food that would ordinarily be considered tough to pair with wine: spicy dishes, curries, veggie stir fry etc.. Additionally, well-made Rieslings can be aged for many years; doing so introduces some fascinating petrol aromas (like those fumes at a gas station but safer).
Regions to try:
- Germany – “Trocken” for dry style and “Pradikat” or “Spätlese” for off-dry / sweet style
- Alsace, France
- Fingerlakes, New York
- Clare Valley, Australia
3. Sauvignon Blanc
The OG porch pounder — this varietal is lighter, dryer and more crispy than the first two. Its roots stem from Bordeaux but has seen a recent explosion of popularity in New Zealand’s Marlborough region.
Sauvignon Blanc does not go through malolactic fermentation and is meant to be drank chilled and outside during the day. Most have a pretty thin body and high acid like New Zealand but some that are aged in oak (common in California) will have a bigger mouth feel.
Regions to try:
- Sancerre, France
- Marlborough, New Zealand
- Napa Valley, California
Perfect pairings
By adding white wines to your palette, you are basically doubling your options for food pairings. A big heavy red Zinfandel overpowers a delicate white fish like cod while a Puilly Fuisse from Burgundy would enhance and bring out the dish’s flavors.
Some of our favorite pairings:
- Oysters + Chablis – While most unoaked Chardonnays would do well with oysters, Chablis specifically has tasting notes of shellfish which make this a natural pairing.
- Turkey + Chardonnay – we aren’t big fans of the over-oaked style of Napa Valley Chardonnay’s like Rombauer, but if there’s a time and place for everything. Otherwise, a nice Chardonnay from Burgundy will do the trick just fine.
- Spicy Pad Thai + Riesling – pairing with spicy foods is difficult, but rieslings hold up well thanks to the varied residual sugar levels. Look for something off-dry or semi-sweet to handle the heat.
- Lobster Roll + Viognier – while tasting in Santa Barbara we discovered this pairing and fell in love. The oily nature of the Viognier plays perfectly with the buttery fish.
- Fried Chicken + Sparkling Albariño – we list Albariño as one of the up and coming varietals and the sparkling version is a knockout. The salty and fat of the chicken plays beautifully with the high acid profile. This is the same combination that makes French Fries and Ketchup go together so well!
- Creme Brulee + Sauternes – a classic french dessert and wine pairing. Sauternes has enough residual sugar and citrus to handle the strength of the custard and caramelized sugar.
Funk it up
The Wine Scribes LOVE the funk. Funky nose, funky taste, funky fresh.
Orange Wine – a bit of a misnomer, as orange wine is actually white wine. While most white wines are fermented with just the pressed juice of white grapes, orange wine is made by fermenting with the white grapes in-tact; the orange hue comes from the grape skins. The good wine for beginners, made this way dates back thousands of years to when wine was first made. This is common in both still and the now trendy pet-nat wines.
Vinho Verde – a popular wine near the Douro Valley in Portugal , which translates to “green wine”. This is also misnomer, as green wine is made from a blend of white grapes such as Alvarinho, Loureiro, Azal, Arinto, and Trajadura. The name is given from the slightly green tint color and fresh, lively taste.
Noble rot – aka botrytis, a type of fungus that shrivels and decays wine grapes. However, some producers turn this into a delicious sweet wines for beginners. Types of these wines include Sauternes from Bordeaux, Tokaj Aszu from Hungary and sweet Rieslings from Germany.
Oxidative Wines – not to be confused with “oxidized wines”, which occur when too much oxygen has come into contact with wine, oxidative wines introduce oxygen but on a more controlled and deliberate manner. While too much oxygen can kill a wine, small amounts in moderation brings layers of savory, earthy, nutty aromas and flavors. Wine aging in barrels or bottle with a cork will slowly be introduced to oxygen over time, which is why an aged wines for beginners, will develop changes in flavor and aroma.
No single region practices this more than Jura in eastern France. One of Jura’s most famous and cherished outputs is vin jaune — translating to “yellow wine”, referring to it’s intense straw yellow hue. These good wine for beginners, are made with Savignin grapes and sit in barrels for six years without topping up; this creates a gap in the barrel and juice, allowing space for oxygen contact. The taste is wild — nuts, salt, wood and old cheese. Funk yeah!
In conclusion
White wines matter! Red wines may get a lot of the glory, but white wines are delicious, fun and great addition to your repertoire. This will hopefully have provided the building blocks to getting started on your white wine voyage.
