Whether entertaining guests at a formal social gathering or enjoying a romantic evening, dry white wines are the perfect addition to the night. With a light and crisp flavor, dry white wines complement almost any celebration and any meal, bringing the taste of elegance to every evening.
But there are also many different styles of white wines to choose from, and if you are hoping to get the perfect type for your formal occasion, it is best to know them all in order to know which is right for your particular situation.
Types Of Dry White Wine
There are several different types of dry white wines, including:
- Riesling
- Chablis
- Sauterne
- Chardonnays
Each of them have different flavors and specialties, as well as use different types of grapes from different countries.
Riesling
As a wine best served cold, Riesling is the name of the grape used to create these wines (sometimes referred to as “Hock Wines”). These wines originated in Germany, though they are sometimes made in California.
The Riesling wine is very delicate, with a very slight green/brown color. The taste of the wind is very tart with an acid crisp.
Chablis
This wine is equally as delicate as Riesling, but it originated in France. It is incredibly expensive and is rarely made in the United States, though California does make a similar wine. Chablis has a light brown color, and has less of a fruit taste than many other types of Chardonnay.
Sauterne
Sauterne is unique because it is also dessert wine as well as a dry white wine. It can be very sweet, or it can be semi-sweet, or it can be dry. This wine is considered one of the first dry wines available and as such it can be very expensive.
Sauterne is created by allowing the grapes to dry on the vine by leaving them out in the sun after ripening. Despite the same process used to create them every year, Sauterne wines can vary in flavor depending on the year of their harvest.
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is the most common and well known of the dry white wines (though some other “varieties” of dry white wines sometimes fall under the Chardonnay label, like Chablis). Chardonnay is the same type of wine used in Champagne and other sparkling wines.
Chardonnay is not known for a very distinct flavor, which is why there are so many different styles. The flavor of most Chardonnay is found in the other ingredients they ferment it with, like oak. Chardonnay can be found on almost every dinner table at every formal party, as its flavor is known to complement almost every meal.
