Stepping Out Of The Mainstream - 5 White Wines That Will Change Your Life
One thing that I see frequently with customers is a desire to stay with grapes they know. For whites, this means the big three; Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, and Sauvignon Blanc. I understand that there's security with the familiar and it's easy to feel skeptical about all the other wine choices that are out there, especially if you don't know them. Unfortunately this type of thinking really limits one's wine experience and leads to big generalizations like, "I don't drink white wine." or "I don't like Chardonnay." One of our goals at The Village Wine Merchant is to consistently provide our customers with opportunities to go beyond the mainstream and discover delicious wines from all over the globe. Here are five suggestions for white wines that will change your life.
1. Grüner Veltliner is Austria's unique white wine contribution to the world and it's.probably the most well known wine on this list. The grape has refreshing citrus, a hint of oyster mushroom and a watercress, peppery finish. Finer examples also show a precise minerality. It's extremely flexible both solo and with food.
2. Garganega, the grape that's responsible for Soave in northern Italy near the town of Verona. The wines show an apple fruit character with moderate acidity and a broad feeling that spreads out on the palate. Lighter fish dishes, white meats, cream sauces, and pasta primavera are great pairings.
3. Our next grape is Vermentino, native to Sardinia, at home near Genoa in Italy and up the Mediterranean coast into Provence. We're also seeing growers from warmer regions in California producing delicious wines. The grape is expressive, has a savory aspect with hints of melon rind and the quality for the price tends to be excellent.
4. The Spanish grape Verdejo makes bottlings from the Rueda region. Along with some citrus and high toned stone fruits like nectarine, Verdejo has a green herbaceous edge that provides nice compexity and interest. Enchiladas suizas or fish tacos anyone?
5. Finally, my last choice is Melon de Bourgogne , the grape that makes Muscadet from the Loire valley in France. Not to be confused with "Moscato", well made Muscadet is bone dry with floral and mineral tones. A perfect pairing to clams or oysters on the half shell, it's one of my favorite wines with sashimi and one of the best values in the world for a wine that shows some non-fruit complexity. Buy a few bottles, put them in your basement for a few years, it ages beautifully.
Of course the key to these wines, and any wine in my view, is to find selections from small, passionate producers who take the time and care working in the vineyard that is necessary to make wines of quality. We have a lot of choices in the shop, give some of these a try and you won't be disappointed.
- Michael