5 White Wines You Must Know

Hello everyone and welcome back to my wine diary. On this channel I do wine tastings and reviews, educational and fun videos, so if you're into wine just as much as I am, please consider subscribing. Also worth of mentioning is the fact that I have done a similar video to this one with five red wines that you must know, and I will try and link this video right here. Make sure to check it out. It's a pretty popular video on my channel, so I don't want you to miss out on it. Now just because my personal preference falls onto red wine doesn't mean that white wine is in any way less sophisticated than the red one. Matter of fact, our white wines can be just as complex, as delicious as red wines. I think it's just about knowing what you like when you're making that order. That's it. Typically our white wines are made from white grapes, and here we remove skins from the grapes before the fermentation process to avoid that imparting of high tannins and color onto our white wines. Now that's quite different from the red wine production where skins are left on the grapes for the fermentation process to assure the imparting of high tannins and color onto the wine that we're producing, and also to ensure good aging capabilities of that wine. And without getting into any more details about the production process of the red wines and the white wines, let me quickly explain to you why I chose the five white wines that I'll be talking about right now. Similarly to the red five wines that I chose a while ago to post my five red wines that you must know video, these five white wines are in my opinion just the basic knowledge of white wines. Those are the ones that you see mostly in restaurants, you hear them on TV, you see them in stores, so those are just the common ones and in my opinion the most popular ones. They're like pillars of society, pillars of wine society, so you must know about them. Now I also have a bonus point by the end of this video. That white wine that I put in there as a bonus point is an absolute must try in my book, so keep an eye on that one and watch till the end. And the first white wine that I want to talk about is the one I'm drinking right now, and this is Sauvignon Blanc. So Sauvignon Blanc or Sauvignon Blanc is packed with citrusy aromas that are also balanced with acidic flavors and very floral, fruitful flavors. So Sauvignon Blanc is considered to be the go-to white wine for people who don't really know much about wine, and there is a reason for it. It's a pretty simple yet delicious wine and it pairs well with many foods too. So this can pair well with poultry dishes, it can pair well with maybe a light-seasoned vegetarian dishes, it pairs well with seafood. So it's an overall really well-rounded white wine that normally comes from the Loire Valley when we talk about France, and then we often see its counterpart from New Zealand, especially from Marlborough. The next white wine we're talking about is Pinot Grigio. Pinot Grigio is also known as Pinot Gris if it comes from France, but it is a light-bodied white wine that is just bursting with fresh and floral aromas. It is one of the most known Italian wine styles, by the way, so make sure to check it out. When it comes to its flavors, Pinot Grigio varies very greatly depending on where it actually comes from. So for instance, if it comes from northern Italy where it originated, then it will be very dry and very citrus forward, some salty characteristics in it, all coming from the terroir of northern Italy. Now if it comes from the New World, for instance, it will be lemony tasting and very fruit forward. And Pinot Grigio is really well paired with food, so think about seafood again, think about pasta dishes and vegetarian dishes, try it out, you won't be disappointed. One little addition here to Pinot Grigio is that there's actually a sweet varietal of Pinot Grigio that is being produced, and it's produced in Alsace area, so that one uses the noble rot when the grapes are produced, and also the late harvest of the grapes to really give it that honey-candied sweetness to the white wine. So there is a sweet Pinot Grigio if you ever come across it. The third white wine that you must know about is Chardonnay. Now Chardonnay is probably the wine that you've heard about a lot, you've seen it in stores, you've seen it in menus, and there is a reason for it. It's a very well-known and very versatile wine. It wasn't always like this though. Years back it used to be shunned by the wine drinkers, and there was even a movement called ABC, Anything But Chardonnay, that definitely didn't help the situation. But times have changed and now Chardonnay is very well known and very well loved as well. This white wine originally comes from the Burgundy region of France, and the reason why it's so versatile I think is because we can age it in oak barrels for instance, or we can drink it fresh. And depending on how long it's been aged for, where it's been aged, and where it was produced, your flavors and aromas will differ very greatly from say fresh and citrusy flavors to tropical fruit flavors like papayas for instance. So it's very versatile, make sure to try it out. Because of this versatility of Chardonnay, it can be paired with different foods too. So think about meatier fish here, something like cod, salmon, halibut, or your shellfish will go really great with Chardonnay too. So maybe prawns, crabs, lobsters, anything of that sort. So try it out, definitely give Chardonnay a go if you still haven't tried it. Wine number four that you must know about is Riesling. Now Riesling is a phenomenon to me. It can be bone-dry or it can be sweet. It's a chameleon wine, they call it in the wine world. So definitely give Riesling a go if you haven't yet. If you're after something with sugar content, try Riesling. If you're eating spicy food, something that will counteract it and balance it, that would be Riesling. So definitely try it out, it's super versatile. Now depending on where it comes from, the taste will differ too. So if you're after a dry Riesling, try from Washington state. And then Germany for instance has Rieslings that are off dry and medium sweet, so those will be on the sweeter side. So what about food pairings with Riesling? So many, so many here, but I would say try anything super delicate with them. Delicate like a delicate fish dish for instance, or try something super crazy with sweeter German wines, German Rieslings, like Asian cuisine, maybe something a little bit spicier. Wine number five that you must know about is by no means my favorite, but I think it's definitely worth to mention it, and that is Moscato. So Moscato is a very fruity sweet wine that also has a fizz to it actually. So Moscatos are often served as desserts, and they are not as easily pairable with many foods in my opinion. If I was to go for a Moscato ever, I would probably select something super fresh to pair my Moscato with. So think of like celery sticks and cucumbers, maybe some vegetables, you know, maybe appetizers like dipping carrots into ranch dressing, I would have a glass of Moscato with that. May sound a little crazy to you, but here's my thing. With Moscato being so sweet and being so fizzy, I would almost either have it instead of dessert by the end of my meal, or I would have it in the very beginning with very simple vegetables and maybe some salting crackers, if that makes sense. Moscato is a one-of-a-kind wine, and definitely make sure to try it out, especially if you are into sweets. And as promised, I have a bonus point for you today. Now this wine I got introduced to only during the pandemic that we just had. So 2020 was the year of me trying Torontes for the first time, and that came with a collaboration that I had with a winery called Ferlin Winery, that's from Argentina. And when they sent me that wine, my mind was so blown. Torontes ended up being so fresh, so delicious, so fruity and aromatic, such smooth finish. I don't think I have ever tried a smoother finish in a white wine. So Torontes is definitely that. Mouthful of acidity. It goes so well with different foods. Flaky fish, salads, cheese boards, charcuterie boards. Try Torontes with anything. It will be amazing. So it's definitely my go-to when it comes to white wines now, and I seek it in stores specifically just because of how much I loved it. So check it out, give it a go. If you try Torontes, leave me a comment down below. If you still haven't, find it and then come back and give me your comment down below too. I am super curious to know what you think of Torontes. It's not as well known as the five white wines that I've mentioned just previously, but it's so amazing. It's so good. And this is it you guys. Thank you so much for sticking around and watching this video till the end, if you're still here. If you are still here since you went all the way, make sure to give this video a like and subscribe to my channel. The subscribe button is right down below. I shoot my videos every single week and I really try to make them entertaining and interesting. If you have any video ideas that you would like for me to do, leave me a comment down below. I'll definitely consider it and put it on my calendar to shoot for you. Thank you very much for sticking around and until next time, cheers everyone!