Global White Classics
The Great White Grape Varieties
Four white varieties define winegrowing in nearly every country: Riesling, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and the Burgunder family of Weissburgunder and Grauburgunder. This stop introduces what makes each one unmistakable—no matter where in the world it happens to grow.
Riesling: Acidity That Outlasts Decades
Riesling originates from Germany's Rhine region. Experts often consider it the most versatile white variety of all. Its hallmark is high, often almost piercing acidity. This acidity keeps the wine fresh even decades after bottling. Riesling ripens late and therefore handles cool sites well. There, it shows aromas of green apple, lime, and peach. In particularly steep, sun-exposed sites like those along the Mosel, some Riesling grapes take until well into October or even November to fully ripen.
The variety itself already carries plenty of aroma. That's why it almost always does without a new oak barrel—a barrel would only mask its delicate fruit. This combination of acidity and aging potential makes mature Riesling vintages sought-after collector's items. That holds true for Germany just as much as for Alsace or the cool corners of Australia. This is precisely why certain Riesling vintages are among the very few white wines in the world that collectors deliberately cellar for decades rather than drinking young.
Chardonnay: The World's Most Adaptable Variety
Chardonnay is, on its own, comparatively neutral in flavor. That's exactly why it's the most widely planted white variety in the world. This restraint makes it a blank canvas for the winemaker. Fermented in stainless steel, it stays lean and mineral, much like classic Chablis style. Aged in barrique and put through malolactic fermentation, the very same grape becomes a completely different wine: creamy, reminiscent of butter and vanilla. This very malleability explains why practically every wine-producing country in the world has some form of Chardonnay in its lineup, from cool coastal sites to warm inland valleys.
Malolactic fermentation simply means that bacteria convert the wine's sharp malic acid into softer lactic acid. The same process is familiar from cheesemaking. The wine loses some of its sharpness as a result. In exchange, it often gains a creamy note, caused by a compound called diacetyl. So whether a Chardonnay reminds you more of a crisp apple or warm pastry has less to do with the grape itself. It comes down to the path the winemaker chooses in the cellar. An experienced taster often notices this difference by smell alone, well before taking a single sip.
Sauvignon Blanc: Loud Aromas Without a Barrel's Help
Sauvignon Blanc smells of gooseberry, blackcurrant leaf, or freshly cut grass right in the glass—often before you've even taken a sip. This is due to sulfur-containing aroma compounds called thiols. They're only released during fermentation from odorless precursors present in the grape. A tangy, distinctly fresh character is almost always part of the package with this variety. Incidentally, these same thiols also occur in ripe passion fruit, which is why many tasters, faced with an intense Sauvignon Blanc, inevitably think of tropical fruit rather than European meadows.
The style became famous in two very different places. Along France's Loire, around Sancerre for instance, it comes across as reserved and stony. In New Zealand's Marlborough region, by contrast, the tropical and grassy notes turn out especially intense. Both styles come from the same variety, shaped by utterly different climates. Between these two extremes lies a whole range of more moderate styles, such as those from South Africa or Chile, which blend both traditions to some degree.
Weissburgunder and Grauburgunder: The Quiet Siblings
Botanically speaking, Weissburgunder and Grauburgunder aren't separate varieties at all. They're mutations of Spätburgunder, meaning Pinot Noir. Their berry skins lost their red color over time—only partially in the case of Grauburgunder, almost entirely in the case of Weissburgunder. Both show less pronounced aromas than Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc. In exchange, they bring a juicy, often slightly nutty body. Because this mutation arose naturally in the vineyard without human intervention, Weissburgunder and Grauburgunder rank among the oldest documented examples of a natural color mutation of all.
This very restraint makes them reliable food companions that rarely clash with a dish. Internationally, the same family appears under other names. In France, it's called Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris. In Italy, it's called Pinot Grigio, usually made in a paler, lighter style than its German cousin. Anyone who tastes all three siblings side by side will find three surprisingly different wines in the glass, despite their identical genetic roots.