With the dog days of Summer upon us, our wine drinking habits often run into a bit of a conundrum. If you live for white wines, you are as happy as a pig in fresh slop. If you are a staunch red wine drinker, there are days that it seems just to hot to hunker down to a big Cabernet or Zinfandel.
These wines are just what the doctor ordered to warm you up on a cold Winters night, but on a hot and sweaty Summer evening, they can seem to weigh you down like a lead balloon.
This is the time of the season to be thinking light and white. Even if white wines are not your usual beverage of choice, there are plenty of them out there in the wine world that are sure to pleasure even the hardest to please palates. They range from bone dry to various levels of sweetness. The scope of fruit flavors range from citrus to butterscotch, juicy to vanilla, melon to nutty, toasty to tropical. Most of all, besides being pleasant and refreshing, they are most versatile when paired with an appetizing meal.
Each year from the beginning of Spring to the end of Summer, I choose one varietal of white wine to focus on and study the wide variety of offerings that particular grape has to offer. I've had my year of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, and white blends. This year, my choice was easy: Alternative Whites. There are so many different varieties of wine from any number of different countries, my selections put forth before me have been broad and expansive.
Let's look in depth this month at the wide spectrum of white wines available, the grapes, their countries that best produce them, and what flavors you might expect from each varietal.
Let us start with one of the most popular of white wines in the world today, Pinot Gris, better known in Italy as Pinot Grigio. The Italian versions tend to lean towards light, fruity and crisp, whereas in the Alsace region of France, Pinot Gris' are spicier and more robust yet stylistic and smooth. California's versions range from slightly dry and fruity to touch sweat and syrupy. Some of the new worlds best come from Oregon, where crisp, clean fruit flavors dominate with ultra ripe vibrancy.
Some of my best wines I have tasted this year have been Viognier. The French versions, known as Condrieu are quite elegant and racy and in particular, very expensive. California leads the way with a number of excellent choices. Peach, pear and tropical fruit, with spicy and floral notes are its main characteristics but depending on the winemaker, beautiful nuances abound with the wines of this finicky grape. Great selections from Australia and South Africa are also available.
Germany is not the only country that dominates when one thinks of Riesling. California, Oregon, Australia, New Zealand and even our home State of Michigan put out a wide range of superb bottling's. From the touch sweet to a diabetic's nightmare of sugary sweet and points in between, this noble grape reigns as the King of White. Citrus, melon and mineral qualities are its M/O yet look to the dry style of riesling for something different. Yes, there are dry versions for those who despise sweet. If you are willing to put aside the notion that all rieslings are sweet, give one a try and I'm sure you'll have a new found appreciation of this grape.
One may also think of Germany when you mention gewurztraminer but like the countries and states listed above, wine lovers swear by its plush richness. A bit bolder, with touches of spice, they lean towards aromatic and perfumey with smoke and syrupy fruit character. Gewurztraminer lends itself to being a very food friendly quaff.
Gruner Veltliner from Austria remains one of the wine worlds best kept secrets. This unique grape produces flavors of white peaches, vanilla bean, apple blossoms and creamy apricot, with a white pepper finish and layers of exotic flavors in between. If you have yet to experience this wine, be sure to try one soon. They are scarce but are worth the effort to seek one out.
Chenin Blanc reigns King in the Loire region of France. They can range from very dry to sweet, much in the same vein as the Riesling grape. Vouvray is one of the most popular forms of Chenin Blanc, slightly sweet and very refreshing. South Africa's version was known as Stein but winemakers there have begun reverting back to its varietal name Chenin Blanc and producing wonderfully dry expressions of this grape. California also has its share of superb Chenin, excluding those that come in box and super gallon size which resemble Chenin Blanc as much as I do Brad Pitt.
One of the lightest white wines on the market is Moscato d' Asti, low in alcohol, touch sparkling and very refreshing. The Muscat grape is grown all over the world and range from dry to sweet. Fruity to the taste and usually very perfumed style wines are made from this grape, as it remains one of the worlds most popular wines.
Albarino, which is the Queen of Spanish white wines, is gaining popularity in this country not only for its crisp light lemony flavors but also for their excellent value. Retailing usually under $10, this grape offers more bang for the buck than any other wine I know. The flavors explode, its fruit refreshing, this has been one of my Summer favorites as well. Seek out a California version called Verdad, well priced and paired with lighter food fair, it's a tasty dream.
Pinot Blanc has its fans that swear by its dry fruitiness. Stateside, California and Oregon produce a number of great values, though look to the Alsace region of France for some spectacular bottling's. Let's not forget Italy, where it is known as Pinot Bianco.
Roussanne and Marsanne are great grape examples, produces mainly throughout the Rhone region of France. I have seen a few California bottling's of either grape bottled on their own which lean towards very floral yet dry and fruity wines. They are usually paired and blended together because of their similar characteristics. The best way to describe them are unique, which is the main reason I enjoy seeking them out and being able to sip their unusual qualities.
To further our search for great white wines, we must dig even deeper into many of the fine wine producing countries from around the world, where many small towns produce wine from indigenous grapes found nowhere else in the world. In France, look to Bordeaux region for their crispy sensational white wines made usually from Sauvignon Blanc or Semillion grapes. Most can be had at value prices yet many classified growth producers bottle exceptional wines that will empty your pocketbook faster than a cheap televangelist.
Also look to the Rhone Valley, the Languedoc-Roussillon, Provence, Alsace, and the Loire Valley for any number of hard to find one of a kind exquisite gems. Our list would not be complete if we did not include the King of all grapes in the Burgundy region, chardonnay. There are plenty of examples of this grape that refresh the body and enhance the soul. Think clean pure fruit, the way chardonnay was meant to be. Not to be confused with the over oaked and over buttered versions from around the globe, or as I like to say, a stick of Land-o-Lakes and a 2 by 4, styles that weigh too heavy on the palate.
You can't think of Italy and all its wine growing regions without thinking great white wine. They grow in every region from the boot slip to the boot tip in styles that are sure to please. Look for Gavi di Gavi, light and sensuous, with flavors that steal your heart. Another popular specialized wine is from San Gimignano known as Vernaccia. Collectors of Italian white wines are passionate about Trebbiano, Arneis, Verdicchio, Vermentino, Picolit, Malvasia, Orvietto, Frascati, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and specialty wines from Sicily and Sardinia, each unique to their region and highly prized for their sensational flavors they provide.
Treasures abound for white wine lovers in Spain yet few of these examples ever see their way across the Atlantic for our palates to appreciates. Rioja whites, made from the viura grape, are soft appealing wines with light fruity flavors and a crisp acidity that pair well with food. For a bright and lively taste sensation, think Cava, the Spanish version of champagne. It is one of the countries most versatile white wines, a value priced sparkling that is sure to please on a hot Summer's night.
Though Riesling remains the dominate grape varietal to come out of Germany, besides Gewurztraminer that we have already mentioned, be sure to seek out a few other white wines that you may have yet to experience. Muller-Thurgau, Sylvaner, Rulander which is the German version of Pinot Gris, Weissburgunder which is their version of Pinot Blanc, and Rulander. Their complexity and unique make up of flavors are note worthy and exhibit refined quality.
Greece, the birthplace of wine, sits low on the totem pole in the eyes of world class wine lovers. I beg to differ. Though their wines are not magazine popular and critic friendly, there are many true treasures to be scooped up at bargain prices. The crisp dry wines of Santorini made from the assyrtiko grape make my taste buds tingle with giddiness when I think of pairing them with fish on the grill. The Muscat based wines along with the citrus based dry Sauvignon Blanc wines that come from many of the surrounding islands are quite appealing and add an extra punch to the variety of foods they can be enjoyed with. Most of all, I get lots of grief for requesting and leading the bandwagon for Retsina, made from the savatiano grape, whenever I hunker down for a wonderful Greek meal. Whether it's the pine resin flavor that offends the masses or its super dry crispiness, I will continue to sing its praises for the freshness and one of a kind flavor it brings to the table.
South of the equator, its not to hard to find something easy to please. An Aussie Chardonnay or Riesling are always a reliable quaff and value hunters dream. From New Zealand, a super citrus Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc or an elegant dry Riesling are always high on my list to sip on a warm evening next to the barbeque and another glass waiting when the grilling is complete.
Michiganders look no further than between its own borders when it comes to satisfy their white wine fix. Though Riesling, which range from semi-dry to late harvest sweet, remains the number one request, other classic grape bottling's are easy to please. I like the dry Vignoles and semi sweet Niagra from St. Julien, the blends from Chateau Chantal, and any number of our States wineries that supply us with their passionate examples of tasty and delicious wines.
With the hundreds and even thousands of varieties of white grape based wines made around the world, there isn't enough time or availability of these classics to experience each and every one of them. Wine lovers are passionate about their favorites, who like myself sniff and search like a bloodhound trying to find the one new wine that will dazzle their senses and twist their tastebud's into newfound glory. With the days of Summer winding down and before we know it snow upon us, now is the time to stand up and treat yourself to something new and exciting. No need to scour the wine world with a magnifying glass like a bobby from Scotland Yard. Just ask! Come see me and we'll travel the white wine world until we unearth the tasty treasure that will soothe, satisfy, impress and refresh, as we pray that Summer never ends.
... that a new bottle of Marilyn Merlot is released each year on June 1st, her birthday. Since 1985, this collectable red is graced with a new photo of the late actress icon on its label. She would haved turned 81 this year. A full set of unopened bottles is said to be worth upwards of $10,000.
Do you know where the oldest known wine vine exists? The vine, known as Black Hamburgh, grows in Hampton Court of the Hampton Palace in London, England. It's initial planting date is recorded to be 1768. 
Joseph Phelps SyrahNapa 2001...$26.99
