In the world of wine, white wine is growing in popularity with its many varieties and diversity of flavor profiles. For beginners, white wine is the perfect starting point to begin your own wine journey and develop your palate.
But how do you get started? Here at The Wine Club Reviews, we are here to help! We will review the top five white wines for new enthusiasts, each selected for their varied complexity, flavor profiles, sweetness levels, and those best for food pairing.
Read on to discover more about the best white wines to start with, how to enjoy them, and what to avoid for the best wine-drinking experience.
What Makes a White Wine Suitable for Beginners?
White wine is perfect for those new to wine or those looking to develop and expand their palates. It has a much milder acidity than red wine and usually contains a lower alcohol content, making it easy to drink.
The flavor profiles are more subtle, and there are many sweet varieties and effervescent types, which make them easy to drink and help introduce new wine appreciators to white wine. Slightly sweet and off-dry varieties are the perfect starting point. Let’s dive in on the best wines to try.
5 Best White Wine Choices for Absolute Beginners
White wine is light or medium-bodied, meaning it is smoother, lower in acidity, and easy to drink. It is usually fruitier, crisp, and refreshing. A sweeter or sparkling wine can be a great starting point for those new to wine tasting.
Moscato d’Asti
Many novice drinkers love the Moscato d’Asti for its slightly effervescent bubbles and sweet flavors. As a dessert wine, it typically features peach, grape juice, and elderberry flavors. It pairs well with pastries, tarts, and cakes.
Riesling (off-dry or medium-sweet)
A Riesling is another excellent choice for a new wine drinker. Made purely from Riesling grapes, it is well-balanced in sweetness and acidity to create a more complex flavor profile without being too dry. It is fruity, with flavors of apple, apricot, or pear.
Pinot Grigio
Perfect for the beginner, a Pinot Grigio is light, crisp, and refreshing with subtle fruit flavors. It tends to be a little drier than dessert wines and features lime, lemon, pear, and nectarine flavors. It’s food-friendly, bright, and slightly acidic.
Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon Blanc is one of the most popular white wines because it is approachable and easy to drink. It’s zesty and herbaceous, with tasting notes of grapefruit, white peach, lemongrass, and bell pepper. Perfect for a step up as a novice wine drinker.
Chenin Blanc (off-dry)
This versatile wine can be sparkling or still and varies from a fresh fruity flavor to sweeter honeyed varieties. It’s light to medium-bodied and very adaptable, with a slightly higher acidity. It pairs well with a meal featuring zucchini, squash, or pumpkin.
Valuable Tips on How to Start Drinking White Wine
Now that you have selected the best white wine for you to start with, how do you fully enjoy it? To enhance your wine-drinking experience, follow these top tips to help develop your palate and learn to appreciate white wines.
Start With Sweeter Varieties
Dry wine can be off-putting to new wine drinkers, so starting sweet is a great way to introduce varieties of wine and how to drink it before diving into more complex and drier wines. Start with a sweeter or more middle-of-the-road variety like a Pinot Grigio to determine if you like sweet wines or prefer a drier blend.
Serve At the Proper Temperature
Serving temperature plays a huge role in flavor and aroma development. White wines, which are more delicate and fruitier, are best enjoyed at cooler temperatures, while full-bodied and complex white wines taste better a few degrees warmer.
Use Appropriate Glassware
When served in the right glass, each type of wine will be maximized in flavor and aroma. Each glass is designed to enhance the temperature and taste to fully enhance the wine-drinking experience.
Learn Basic Tasting Techniques
To fully appreciate the nuances of a glass of wine, it’s important to follow the basic techniques of tasting a wine. It starts with the look and smell of wine. It should appear clear and well-colored without any haziness.
Take a large inhale before tasting to fully experience the notes and aromas before sipping. Once you do taste it, swish it around to coat your tongue and look for notes of fruit, flowers, or spices.
Pair With Complementary Foods
Food and wine pairing is a fun experience that significantly enhances a wine’s complexity and full flavor profile. White wines are best paired with lighter proteins like fish, seafood, and poultry. Certain spices and fresh flavors, like a summer salad, also pair well with white wines.
Gradually Explore Different Regions and Styles
Wine tasting is a journey, and it’s a personal one based on what you prefer and what you like and dislike. Gradually expand your palate to include other regions, added complexity, and flavor additions like oak-aged or vanilla spice to truly develop your ideal experience. Doing so slowly is helpful in allowing your palate to develop fully.
What’s the Ideal Serving Temperature for White Wines?
When served, the temperature of a wine significantly impacts its flavor and aroma. Even a couple of degrees can alter the taste of a delicate white wine. White wines are generally served cooler than red because of their lighter and fresher flavors.
A light-bodied white wine is best enjoyed at 45-50° F or 7-10° C. This will highlight the nuances of delicate aromas and flavor notes. A fuller-bodied or more complex wine can be served slightly warmer to complement the different notes. These wines are served around 50-55°F or 10-13°C. The warmer temperatures allow the full-bodied flavors to fully develop.
These are just guidelines, however—experiment with what you prefer and consider the individual characteristics of the wine you serve. Factors like acidity, sugar content, and alcohol content will significantly influence the ideal temperature to enjoy the wine. Even slight variations are largely impacted by temperature, so try a few variations and see what temperature you enjoy the most.
Are There Any Common Faults to Look Out for in White Wine?
Like with any wine, there are some important things to pay attention to when selecting a white wine to enjoy. However, white wines are particularly delicate, and a variety of environmental factors can quickly impact their flavors. These can significantly alter the experience of enjoying a glass of white wine. Let’s look at the most common faults to look out for to ensure you are getting the best value for your money.
Cork Taint
Cork taint, or TCA, is a chemical contaminant in wine bottles that affects the flavor and aroma. It’s the most common wine fault and produces a musty, moldy, and earthy smell. TCA develops when the fungi in cork contact the chlorides used to treat wine barrels and vines. It can happen to any wine, but it does render it to be undrinkable.
Oxidation
Oxidation can also happen to any wine and occurs when it is exposed to too much oxygen during the winemaking process or even after bottling. It results in a flat flavor, a brown color, and a nutty aroma. Usually, this happens when a wine hasn’t been sealed appropriately or left open for too long.
Heat Damage
It is easy to heat damage a wine accidentally by forgetting it in a hot car or being exposed to high temperatures during transit or storage. At temperatures over 86° F, a white wine starts to darken in color to a golden or amber-brown color and will smell like cooked fruit or jam. The flavor will be flatter, dulled, and can be sour.
Bottom Line
Enjoying white wine is a uniquely personalized experience. If you are newer to white wines, start with an approachable and accessible variety before moving on to more complex blends so you can identify the levels of sweetness or flavor profiles you prefer. Make sure to serve the wine at the correct temperature and in the fitting glassware to fully appreciate the flavors and aromas, and keep an eye out for common wine faults.
From there, expand your wine palate by experimenting with wines from regions around the world, flavorings, and complexities.
A wine subscription service is a great way to develop this palate, and they offer flexible cancellation terms to fit your lifestyle. Sticking to these key tips will not only empower you as a connoisseur of white wine but will ultimately enhance your wine appreciation and wine-drinking experience.
FAQs
What food pairs well with beginner-friendly white wines?
There is a beginner-friendly white wine perfect for every meal. The flavors are elevated and expanded when combined with the right food pairings. White wines generally pair well with fish, seafood, and poultry. A light but full-bodied Chardonnay perfectly highlights the flavors and textures of roasted chicken and vegetables. Pinot Grigio pairs well with a pesto pasta dish, and a Sauvignon Blanc’s acidity goes well with the freshness of a Caesar salad.
How do I properly taste and appreciate white wines?
Part of the joy of tasting white wines comes from intentionally appreciating the complexity of the different notes and flavors. When pouring a white wine, look for a nice clarity that is clear, colorful, and not cloudy. Swirl the wine to aerate and release the aromas and tannins. Before you sip, smell the wine and look for spice, herb, or flower notes. Finally, take a sip and let it coat your tongue to fully appreciate the flavors and complexity.
What alcohol content should I expect in white wines?
White wines average about 10% ABV but can vary from 5-14% depending on the type of wine and where it was grown. The riper the grape, the higher the sugar content, which means a higher alcohol content. Cooler climates also influence the alcohol content, and those from France and Germany tend to have a lower ABV due to their cooler temperatures.
What’s the best way to chill white wines before serving?
The best way to chill wine is to store it in the fridge for about two hours before serving. If you are short on time, you can put it in the freezer for 20-30 minutes; just make sure to wrap the bottle in a damp towel to protect it. You can also serve white wine with the bottle in a bucket, two-thirds full of ice and one-third of water to keep it chilled.
How do I progress from beginner to more complex white wines?
Start with a beginner-friendly white wine like a Pinot Grigio, which is a nice middle-of-the-road to decide if you prefer sweeter or drier wines. Next, try a Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc, which are a little drier but offer more complexity. Expand your palate as you find wines you like, regions you prefer, or flavors like aged oak or vanilla.
