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For Dummies is a registered trademark of Wiley Publishing, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Used here by license.(Not exactly) white wineWhoever coined the term “white wine” must have been colorblind. All you have to do is look at it to see that it’s not white, it’s yellow. But we’ve all gotten used to the expression by now, and so white wine it is. White wine is wine without any red color (or pink color, which is in the red family). This means that White Zinfandel, a popular pink wine, isn’t white wine. But yellow wines, golden wines, and wines that are as pale as water are all white wines.
Wine becomes white wine in one of two ways. First, white wine can be made from white grapes — which, by the way, aren’t white. (Did you see that one coming?) White grapes are greenish, greenish yellow, golden yellow, or sometimes even pinkish yellow. Basically, white grapes include all the grape types that are not dark red or dark bluish. If you make a wine from white grapes, it’s a white wine.
The second way a wine can become white is a little more complicated. The process involves using red grapes — but only the juice of red grapes, not the grape skins. The juice of most red grapes has no red pigmentation — only the skins do — and so a wine made with only the juice of red grapes can be a white wine. In practice, though, very few white wines come from red grapes. (Champagne is one exception)
In case you’re wondering, the skins are removed from the grapes by either pressing large quantities of grapes so that the juice flows out and the skins stay behind — sort of like squeezing the pulp out of grapes, the way kids do in the cafeteria — or by crushing the grapes in a machine that has rollers to break the skins so that the juice can drain away.
Is white always right?You can drink white wine anytime you like — which for most people means as a drink without food or with lighter foods.
White wines are often considered apéritif wines, meaning wines consumed before dinner, in place of cocktails, or at parties. (If you ask the officials who busy themselves defining such things, an apéritif wine is a wine that has flavors added to it, as vermouth does. But unless you’re in the business of writing wine labels for a living, don’t worry about that. In common parlance, an apéritif wine is just what we said.)
A lot of people like to drink white wines when the weather is hot because they’re more refreshing than red wines, and they’re usually drunk chilled (the wines, not the people).
We serve white wines cool, but not ice-cold. Sometimes restaurants serve white wines too cold, and we actually have to wait a while for the wine to warm up before we drink it. If you like your wine cold, fine; but try drinking your favorite white wine a little less cold sometime, and we bet you’ll discover it has more flavor that way.
White wine styles: There’s no such thing as plain white wineWhite wines fall into four general taste categories, not counting sparkling wine or the really sweet white wine that you drink with dessert. If the words we use to describe these taste categories sound weird, take heart. Here are the four broad categories:
Some white wines are fresh, unoaked whites — crisp and light, with no sweetness and no oaky character. Most Italian white wines, like Soave and Pinot Grigio, and some French whites, like Sancerre and some Chablis wines, fall into this category.
Some white wines are earthy whites — dry, fuller-bodied, unoaked or lightly oaked, with a lot of earthy character. Some French wines, such as Mâcon or whites from the Côtes du Rhône region have this taste profile.
Some white wines are aromatic whites, characterized by intense aromas and flavors that come from their particular grape variety, whether they’re off-dry (that is, not bone-dry) or dry. Examples include a lot of German wines, and wines from flavorful grape varieties such as Riesling or Viognier.
Finally, some white wines are rich, oaky whites — dry or fairly dry, and full-bodied with pronounced oaky character. Most Chardonnays and many French wines — like many of those from the Burgundy region of France — fall into this group.
Red, red wine
In this case, the name is correct. Red wines really are red. They can be purple red, ruby red, or garnet, but they’re red.
Red wines are made from grapes that are red or bluish in color. So guess what wine people call these grapes? Black grapes! We suppose that’s because black is the opposite of white.
The most obvious difference between red wine and white wine is color. The red color occurs when the colorless juice of red grapes stays in contact with the dark grape skins during fermentation and absorbs the skins’ color. Along with color, the grape skins give the wine tannin, a substance that’s an important part of the way a red wine tastes.
The presence of tannin in red wines is actually the most important taste difference between red wines and white wines.
Red wines vary quite a lot in style. This is partly because winemakers have so many ways of adjusting their red-winemaking to achieve the kind of wine they want. For example, if winemakers leave the juice in contact with the skins for a long time, the wine becomes more tannic (firmer in the mouth, like strong tea; tannic wines can make you pucker). If winemakers drain the juice off the skins sooner, the wine is softer and less tannic. Red wine tends to be consumed more often as part of a meal than as a drink on its own.
Thanks to the wide range of red wine styles, you can find red wines to go with just about every type of food and every occasion when you want to drink wine (except the times when you want to drink a wine with bubbles, because most bubbly wines are white or pink).
One sure way to spoil the fun in drinking most red wines is to drink them too cold. Those tannins can taste really bitter when the wine is cold — just as in a cold glass of very strong tea. On the other hand, many restaurants serve red wines too warm. (Where do they store them? Next to the boiler?) If the bottle feels cool to your hand, that’s a good temperature.
Red wine sensitivities
Some people complain that they can’t drink red wines without getting a headache or feeling ill.
Usually, they blame the sulfites in the wine. We’re not doctors or scientists, but we can tell you that red wines contain far less sulfur than white wines. That’s because the tannin in red wines acts as a preservative, making sulfur dioxide less necessary. Red wines do contain histamine-like compounds and other substances derived from the grape skins that could be the culprits. Whatever the source of the discomfort, it’s probably not sulfites.
A rose is a rose, but a rosé is “white”
Rosé wines are pink wines. Rosé wines are made from red grapes, but they don’t end up red because the grape juice stays in contact with the red skins for a very short time — only a few hours, compared to days or weeks for red wines. Because this skin contact (the period when the juice and the skins intermingle) is brief, rosé wines absorb very little tannin from the skins.
Therefore, you can chill rosé wines and drink them as you would white wines. Of course, not all rosé wines are called rosés. (That would be too simple.) Many rosé wines today are called blush wines — a term invented by wine marketers to avoid the word rosé, because back in the ’80s, pink wines weren’t very popular. Lest someone figures out that blush is a synonym for rosé, the labels call these wines white. But even a child can see that White Zinfandel is really pink.
The blush wines that call themselves white are fairly sweet. Wines labeled rosé can be sweetish, too, but some wonderful rosés from Europe (and a few from America, too) are dry (not sweet). Some hard-core wine lovers hardly ever drink rosé wine, but many wine drinkers are discovering what a pleasure a good rosé wine can be, especially in warm weather.
Ten occasions to drink rosé (and defy the snobs)
1. When she’s having fish and he’s having meat (or vice versa)
2. When a red wine just seems too heavy
3. With lunch — hamburgers, grilled cheese sandwiches, and so on
4. On picnics on warm, sunny days
5. To wean your son/daughter, mate, friend (yourself?) off cola
6. On warm evenings
7. To celebrate the arrival of spring or summer
8. With ham (hot or cold) or other pork dishes
9. When you feel like putting ice cubes in your wine
10. On Valentine’s Day (or any other pink occasion)
Which type when?
Your choice of a white wine, red wine, or rosé wine will vary with the season, the occasion, and the type of food that you’re eating (not to mention your personal taste!). Choosing a color usually is the starting point for selecting a specific wine in a wine shop or in a restaurant. Most stores and most restaurant wine lists arrange wines by color before making other distinctions, such as grape varieties, wine regions, or taste categories.
Although certain foods can straddle the line between white wine and red wine compatibility — grilled salmon, for example, can be delicious with a rich white wine or a fruity red — your preference for red, white, or pink wine will often be your first consideration in pairing wine with food, too.
Pairing food and wine is one of the most fun aspects of wine, because the possible combinations are almost limitless. Best of all, your personal taste rules!
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For Dummies is a registered trademark of Wiley Publishing, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Used here by license.