The Wonders of White Wines

Do you prefer a light, crisp, fruity flavored wine? If so, then white wine is the beverage for you. Believe it or not, to make white wine requires different processes and techniques than red wine-making does.

First, picking grapes for white wine during the coolest part of the day is extremely important to ensure the acids and sugars of the fruit are at the right balance. Picked grapes must either undergo the first stage of wine making (juice extraction) immediately or sit in a chilled environment until the next stage.

Unlike red wine, white wine is made without skins or seeds, but when it comes to extracting juice there are two different techniques. You can either de-stem and crush the grapes before they go through a 'pressing' machine or you can press the whole cluster of grape. The latter results in less juice but the liquid is actually of higher quality. What it really boils down to is personal preference.

White wines undergo fermentation and aging in either a wooden barrel or a stainless steel vat. What's the difference?

Barrels contain oak compounds that can be detected as a flavor or aroma when tasting wine. Stainless steel vats, on the other hand, have no interaction with the wine but tend to produce lighter, fruitier tasting wines.

Did you know there are about 50 major white wine grape varietals grown worldwide? Here are some of the most common ones we know:
- Chardonnay
- Sauvignon Blanc
- Riesling
- Gewurztraminer
- Chenin Blanc
- Pinot Grigio/gris

These happen to be the six wines we blindly tasted in class.

I'm no expert but here were my top 3 along with some white wine rules of thumb I discovered:

1. Riesling
2. Pinot Grigio
3. Chardonnay

- I definitely did not enjoy the Gewurtraminer! Don't be fooled by the floral aromas!
- Cat urine is a common aroma associated with Sauvignon Blanc!!! Knowing that information, it surprisingly still wasn't my least favorite. This type of wine is also known to have a definitive green pepper flavor and should be paired with food on that note.
- Riesling has the longest aging potential.

Did you know that your seemingly fruity, light white wine could have celery, artichoke, flint, gunpowder, toast, cut grass, boxwood, and tobacco characteristics?

I encourage you to buy a bottle of white this weekend and let me know what aromas you smell and the flavors you taste! The possiblities are endless. One thing to note, however, is that getting a musty, wet-newspaper smell or taste could mean that particular bottle is corked.

Corked means bottled with a cork that is contaminated with TCA (2,4,6-Trichloroanisole). TCA contamination usually comes from corks but can also come from barrels or even from wood within the cellar including walls or beams!

Did you know that 5-10% of all bottled wines are 'corked'?! That's pretty significant and could explain why you have a negative association with a particular brand. Perhaps you didn't even know you had a corked bottle! Better luck next time.

Cheers to white wine!