Dry white wines

What is my style of foreign white wine?

We admit it is not easy to find your way through all these countries, regions and grape varieties, but don’t panic: we are going to explain how to get your bearings a little better! To make things clearer, we are going to divide white wines into 4 categories.

CRISP AND FRUITY WHITE WINES

These are crisp dry white wines, a first-rate choice for those who enjoy a touch of liveliness on the tongue, which means thatacidity will be the dominant component in your glass compared with the body of the wine. You will often enjoy them most in hot weather or with fairly light dishes such as sushi or seafood platters. In France, these are well-known wines such as Chablis, Sancerre, Muscadet, dry Riesling from Alsace or Entre-deux-Mers. We recommend trying Hungarian white wines, Sémillon from Australia, Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand and Australia, Albariño from northern Spain, or German and Australian Riesling.

 ROUND AND FRUITY WHITE WINES 

These are white wines that feel softer or more unctuous on the tongue, which means that theacidity is balanced by roundness on the palate. This gives the wine texture or, as we say in tasting jargon, it gives it fat. In France, you find this style in the white wines of the Rhône Valley (Crozes-Hermitage, Saint-Joseph, Côtes du Rhône), the blended white wines of Languedoc-Roussillon, but also dry Pinot Gris from Alsace, Chenin from the Loire and entry-level Chardonnay from Burgundy. Around the world, we therefore recommend trying the white wines of Rioja and southern Spain, Chardonnay from Australia and South America, Italian white wines such as Pinot Grigio, or Chenin from South Africa.

RICH AND COMPLEX WHITE WINES 

These are white wines whose dominant component is roundness and whose texture is the fullest among dry white wines. They have generally undergone ageing in oak barrels and a second, malolactic fermentation. The most typical representative of this style of white wine is Chardonnay, with the great white wines of Burgundy (Meursault, Chassagne-Montrachet), but the great wines of Bordeaux (Graves, Pessac-Léognan), Alsace, the Loire and the Rhône (Condrieu, Hermitage) belong to it too. We therefore recommend trying barrel-aged Chardonnay from South America, South Africa (Domaine Dorrance) or Australia, or the great Rieslings of Germany. As a rule, these are often fairly expensive wines.

 AROMATIC WHITE WINES  

These white wines have explosive aromas, with floral and exotic-fruit scents that leap out of the glass and straight to your nose. In this case, it is the aromas that dominate everything else, and the exuberance of this style of wine divides opinion. In France, you will find this style of wine in the Gewurztraminer of Alsace, dry Muscat and Muscadelle from the south of France. If you like this style of wine, we recommend trying Torrontés from Argentina, dry Muscat from Italy and the famous Moscato d’Asti in its sparkling, sweet version!

LE BAROUDEUR DU VIN’S TIP :

On every bottle of wine, you can rely on the “body” gauge to get an idea of how round the white wine is. The higher the gauge, the fuller the wine will be on the palate.