White Grapes Chardonnay The most popular of the white grapes around the world for various reasons, Chardonnay wines can produce wines of exceptional character, richness and depth as well as ones with varying styles. Typical flavors: pear, apple, vanilla, oak, banana, fig, butterscotch, lemon, nutty, pineapple, minerals In warm climate regions like California and Australia, they can be produced in a rich, ripe fruit forward and buttery oak style that seems very popular with many wine drinking people around the world. These wines are often not built for the long haul and early term consumption is typically a good idea. There are exceptions. In cooler climate regions such as Burgundy, a crisper, more structured and minerally style emerges that emphasizes complexity and aging ability. Some of the Best Chardonnays: California: Arrowood, Beringer, Dehlinger, Hanzel, Kistler, Landmark, Long, Marcassin, Martinelli, Peter Michael, Chateau Montelena, Mount Eden, Newton, Pahlmeyer, Patz and Hall, Rochioli, Shafer, Talbot France: Bertrand Ambroise, d'Angerville, d'Auvenay, Daniel Barraud, Jean-Marc Boillot, Brocard, Colin-Deleger, Comte Lafon, Dauvissat, Domaine Leflaive, Laroche, Leroy, Bernard Morey, Niellon, Ramonet, Sauzet, Tessier, Thevenet, Vosne Romanee, Vergot Sauvignon Blanc Experiencing a resurgence in popularity, Sauvignon Blanc at it's best is a very crisp wine. Most use very minor oak treatment so that the bright crisp character has a chance to shine through. Typical flavors: gooseberry, grapefruit, grassy, lemony, kiwi, boxwood, cat's pee, green apple, minerally, flinty, citrus In California, Fume Blanc is an oaky style of Sauvignon Blanc that became popular around the time that Chardonnay became very well known. It seems to me that people just wanted another wine they liked as much as Chardonnay and went for this as a result. Personally, this has never been a style I appreciate. Some of the better Sauvignon Blancs come from New Zealand, with the Marlborough region producing many of the best in the world. The Loire Valley in France, specifically Sancere and Pouilly Fume are two more areas that also produce excellent Sauvignon Blancs. These can be some of the most fragrant wines in the world with a strong gooseberry aroma. At their best, these wines are capable of aging for fairly long periods of time, with 8 to 10 years not being out of the question at all. I suspect longer for the best of them but have no empirical evidence to back up my suspicions. These wines are very crisp with a distinct essence of grapefruit, gooseberry and minerals. Some of the Best Sauvignon Blancs: California: Babcock, Bernadus, Mason, Mondavi, Rochioli New Zealand: Cloudy Bay, Goldwater, Isabel, Villa Maria, Nuedorf France: Didier Dagueneua, Paul Cotat, Lucien Crochet, Delaporte, Hippolyte Reverdy, Edmund Vatan Riesling Riesling can make some of the truly finest wines in the world. Ones with exceptional long aging ability that develop intense secondary bouquets and flavors. Typical flavors: green apple, lemon peel, lime, lychee, pear, white pepper, pineapple, banana, flinty, petrol, earth In their youth, they can reveal a sharply acidic character with green apple flavors and aromas. With age an oily, petroly character can develop which is often a highly sought after quality. Germany makes the best Rieslings in the world. The German wines are divided into seven levels of quality according to German regulations. Generally speaking the quality levels start out drier and finish sweeter. So a Kabinett wine is much drier than a Beeranauslese. These levels are as follows: Tafelwein Qualitatswein Kabinett Spatlese Auslese Beeranauslese Trockenbeeranauslese The Alsace region of France also produces some tremendous Rieslings that do rival the best Germany has to offer. These are typically on the dry side for whites, yet can have very rich characters. They tend to have a more tropical character than the German counterparts. Australia produces the best new world Rieslings. They tend to be full bodied and fruit driven, yet typically on the dry side, though there are a number of producers creating luscious desert styled Rieslings also. California has not really cracked the Riesling market significantly, though there have been a small handful of excellent wines produced over the years. Riesling sadly never caught on with the American market and most of the better Riesling vineyards have been ripped out and replanted with the over popular Chardonnay. There are a number of late harvest and/or Botrytis Riesling in America that are very high quality. Some of the Best Rieslings: America: Chateau St Jean, Chateau St Michelle, Galleron, Thumbs Up, New Zealand/Australia: Clos Clare, Pikes, Huai, Isabel, Scott French Alsace: Lucien Albrecht, Albert Boxler, Hugel, Josmeyer, Albert Mann, Domaine Trimbach, Zind-Humbrecht Germany: Kurt Darting, Fritz Haag, Egon Muller, Muller-Catoir, J.J. Prum Chenin Blanc Chenin Blanc can be one of the prettiest white wines you will ever taste, very clean and pure in flavor. Typical flavors: peach, pear, melon, floral, honey, sweet lemon, pineapple The finest Chenin Blancs in the world come from the Vouvray and the Coteaux du Layon regions of France, where they produce a very floral and honeyed style of wine that reveals crisp, clean fruit flavors. They can be finished in dry to off dry styles along with a handful of sweet dessert styled wines.   South Africa has also produced a number of nice Chenin Blancs. There have not been too many new world Chenin Blancs that are in the same class with what France has to offer. Some of the Best Chenin Blancs: California: Chalone, Chappellet, Gehrs French Loire: Baumard, Huet, Clos Naudin, Domaine de la Biche, Bourillon-Dorleans, Champalou, Jo Pithon, Renee Renou, Viognier Viognier is gaining popularity in the United States, largely on the coat tails of other popular Rhone grapes being planted in this country. For my tastes these wines have some of the most interesting complexities found in any whites around the world. Typical flavors: peach, apricot, floral, pineapple, vanilla, pepper, minerals This is a Rhone varietal that up to now has found it's finest production in the Condrieu region of the Rhone Valley in France. Viognier is a very high toned floral wine with strong peach characteristics along with a pronounced minerally terrior driven finish. California is beginning to have some luck with this varietal. There are a number of full bodied Viogniers that show a strong apricot/peach forward fruit character with nice long finishes. A small handful seem to be able to nearly match the minerally quality that they can get from Condrieu but so far none show the overall purity of fruit and balance across the palate that you find in the best Condrieus. Some of the Best Viogniers: California: Alban, Andrew Murray, Gregory Graham, Ojai, Pride French Condrieu: Chapoutier, Yves Cuilleron, Pierre Dumazet, Yves Gangloff, Guigal, Monteillet, Andre Perret, Rene Rostaing, Georges Vernay, Francois Villard