White wine
Dry white wine has almost no sugar left, while sweet white wine does; the difference lies in how much sugar is converted into alcohol during fermentation. Below are six bottles ranging from dry to sweet, and the glass that goes with each.
White wine by grape
Four grapes found on almost every shelf, from dry to dessert-sweet. Each grape has its own page with flavor, food pairings, and the right glass.
Chardonnay
Oak-aged and velvety with vanilla and caramel, while from a steel tank it is lighter and fresher.
About Chardonnay →Sauvignon blanc
Citrus, green apple, herbs, and gooseberry, and a classic pairing with goat cheese and vegetables.
About Sauvignon blanc →
Verdejo
The grape of Rueda, with green melon, citrus fruits, fennel, and white peach.
About Verdejo →
Moscato
The Muscat grape behind many dessert wines, with apricot, peach, orange, and vanilla.
About Moscato →The juice is colorless; the skin does the work
White wine is made from green or yellow grapes, and in some cases even from blue ones. The juice that comes from a grape is always colorless; the color is in the skin. With white wine, the skins do not ferment along with the juice, so the wine stays light in color and often gets a fresh, fruity taste. That is also where the difference with the rest of the shelf begins: for rosé, the winemaker leaves the skins to macerate in the must for eight to fourteen hours, and the longer that contact lasts, the darker the wine becomes. With red wine, the skins simply ferment along with the juice. White, rosé, and red therefore all start with the same colorless juice and only diverge when it comes to the skins. After the first fermentation, white wine is already filtered, and the wine then usually rests for a few months in stainless steel tanks.
Whether a white wine is dry or sweet depends on when fermentation stops. In a dry wine, almost all the sugars are converted into alcohol, leaving little to no sugar behind and bringing flavors such as citrus and apple to the fore. In a sweet wine, this process is not completed: residual sugar remains, and you can taste it. Winemakers usually start with grapes that are naturally high in sugar for this. The best example of these two sides bears just one name: Riesling always has high acidity and can be dry but just as easily sweet, while Chenin Blanc is made in styles ranging from bone-dry to sweet. So the grape on the label does not tell you everything; the winemaker's style does.
In brief
Six bottles, from dry to sweet
The same color, a completely different taste. From top to bottom, more and more sugar remains in the wine, while the alcohol percentage drops accordingly.
Pinot grigio
Fresh and smooth, with peach, grapefruit, lime and a hint of spice, and a soft, long finish. Pinot grigio generally has low residual sugar, making it often the driest choice in this selection.
Sauvignon blanc
Refreshing, with notes of citrus, freshly mown grass and gooseberries, and a very approachable taste. Crisp and fresh with high acidity, and therefore generally less sweet than a chardonnay.
Verdejo
Fruity, juicy and approachable, with tropical fruit, lemon, green herbs and fennel. Verdejo comes from Rueda in northern Spain; some verdejo wines are aged in oak, which makes them considerably fuller.
Oaked Chardonnay
Half of this full-bodied, rich wine is aged for six months in oak barrels. You can taste it in the vanilla, butter and toffee, alongside pineapple, papaya, peach and lemon.
Riesling Spätlese
Made from late-harvest Riesling grapes from the Ürziger Würzgarten vineyard, with plenty of residual sugar. Sweet and fruity, and at 7.5 percent alcohol clearly lighter than the dry bottles above.
Moscato
A lightly sweet sparkling wine made from the muscat grape Muscat d'Alexandrie, with orange blossom, mandarin and a soft, refreshing fizz. The sweetest bottle of these six, and at 5.5 percent also the lightest.
Red and rosé start with exactly the same colorless juice; the skins do go into the vat for them.
Fresh from the acidity, and as sweet as fermentation allows
Citrus & white fruit
In dry bottles, you smell citrus, green apple, pear and herbs, sometimes with a grassy edge. Sweet wines lean more toward apricot, peach, honey and orange blossom.
Fresh or round
A dry white wine tastes fresh and slightly acidic because hardly any sugar remains. A wine with residual sugar feels fuller and rounder, while in riesling it balances the high acidity.
Vanilla & butter
Chardonnay aged in oak is rich and full-bodied, with warm flavors such as vanilla, butter and even caramel. The same grape from a steel tank is instead closer to a fresh pinot gris or sauvignon blanc.
Flavor profile of an average dry white wine. An oaked chardonnay scores higher in body, while a spätlese or a moscato scores considerably higher in sweetness.
How to pour white wine
White wine should go into the bowl cold and stay cold. That comes down to the temperature, how you hold the glass and how full you pour it.
Chill to 8 to 12 degrees
Serve a fresh, fruity white wine at around 8 to 10 degrees, or about three hours in the refrigerator. A full-bodied or aromatic wine can be served at 10 to 12 degrees and needs only an hour and a half to two hours, or about half an hour outside the refrigerator. An oaked chardonnay is best enjoyed at 12 degrees, while a steel-aged one is best at 7 to 10.
From dry to sweet →Hold by the stem
A wine glass consists of a foot, a stem and a bowl. The stem prevents your hand from gripping the bowl and warming the wine, while the bowl holds and distributes the aromas. Pour white wine just above the widest part of the bowl and no further: lukewarm wine releases fewer fresh aromas.
To the glasses →Store after opening
After three to four days, most wines have oxidized. Pour the remainder into a plastic bottle and squeeze it until the wine is just below the opening, then it will keep in the refrigerator for several days, even up to a week. A vacuum pump works too. Store an unopened bottle on its side so the cork does not dry out.
More about storage →Cocktails with sparkling white wine
Still white wine is rarely used in a cocktail; it is best enjoyed on its own from the glass. All four of these rely on sparkling white wine, making them the closest match to the lightly sweet moscato above.
Bellini
Peach purée at the bottom of the glass, then gently top up with a dry sparkling wine.
Hugo Spritz
Elderflower syrup, sparkling wine, sparkling water and mint over lots of ice.
Mimosa
Half orange juice, half bubbles, and nothing else is needed.
Kir Royal
A dash of crème de cassis, topped up with a dry sparkling wine.The right glass for white wine
A slimmer glass keeps white wine chilled for longer, while a bowl with enough room allows the aromas to open up. These are the glasses we recommend ourselves.
Everything else you wanted to know about white wine
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