White wine

1. White wine production

When the harvest arrives in the cellar, the bunches of grapes (white or red) are destemmed, i.e. the seeds are removed from the stalks. The grapes are then crushed. The grapes are lightly crushed to release the juice. They then pass directly into a press.

Then begins the cuvaison, an essential stage in defining the wine's character. The juice from the press is pumped into a settling tank. The must obtained from the press is then placed in a vat for settling. The particles that make the juice cloudy fall to the bottom of the settling tank, and the clear juice is then recovered for transfer to fermentation tanks or barrels.

The vatting period for alcoholic fermentation lasts between two weeks and a month and a half for a dry white wine. It is much longer for a sweet wine, and can extend to several months.

The wine is then matured, except in the case of primeur wines. Before bottling, the wine undergoes a number of operations designed to confirm its qualities and preserve its uniqueness. It may be filtered to give it its full brilliance.

In appellations where several grape varieties are permitted, blending is also an essential part of the wine's life cycle. Next comes bottling, enabling the wine lover to continue ageing in his or her own wine cellar.

2. The case of sweet or syrupy wines

In addition to the longer vatting period, sweet to liqueur-like wines are produced using a variety of methods, which may or may not be combined. These include late harvesting, in which the grapes are left on the vine to concentrate their sugar content under the action of the sun. Passillage hors souche is a technique that consists in evaporating the water from the grapes after harvesting. In certain terroirs, climatic conditions make it possible to obtain noble rot in the grapes. This is the technique used to make Sauternes, Monbazillac and certain Loire Valley wines such as Coteaux du Layon Chaume. Finally, sugar concentration can be achieved by cold pressing. The cooled grapes retain the frozen water flakes within them, releasing only the sweetest juice when pressed. This technique makes it possible to produce sweet wine in regions where climatic conditions would not allow it, but the aromas are modified.

3. White wine grape varieties

A wide variety of grape varieties are used to make white wine. It should be pointed out that the grapes used can be white or red with white flesh, with only the white juice being used to make the wine. Maceration, which gives red wines their color, is not a stage in white wine production. Among the most widely used white grape varieties are Chardonnay B from Burgundy, and Sauvignon B, which is now widely cultivated in France, the United States and South Africa. The vineyards of Alsace use a variety accustomed to harsh climatic conditions: Riesling B. Without being exhaustive, other grape varieties include Chenin B in the Loire Valley, Viognier in the Rhône Valley, Grenache blanc, Sémillon B in the Bordeaux region, Maccabeu B in Spain or in Languedoc and Roussillon, Ugni blanc in Italy... As already mentioned, certain grape varieties with pink or red skins are also used in white winemaking: Gewurztraminer, Pinot noir...

4. White wine regions

The main areas of white wine production are partly a function of consumer habits. In South Africa, Australia and the United States, for example, the consumption of white wine is higher than that of red or rosé. As a result, wine-growing regions are more likely to produce white wine. France, as an exporter, is the exception with a very small white wine consumption, but it also has some very large white wine-producing regions. In addition to Champagne, the Loire Valley, Alsace and Jura produce white wines of excellent reputation. The Bordeaux and Burgundy regions, however, have appellations whose white wines are renowned for their quality: Sauternes, Barsac, Chablis, Meursault...

5. Some legendary white wines

It's undoubtedly the Sauternes wine Château Yquem that figures in the Pantheon of famous wines. This house of excellence goes so far as to sacrifice harvests so as not to damage its reputation, sometimes omitting certain vintages such as 1974 or 1992. However, this is a sweet wine. Among dry whites, there is no such marked supremacy in terms of reputation, but some names often come to mind when one evokes whites of excellence: Château Laville Haut Brion in Pessac-Léognan, Beaune Premier cru Clos des Mouches or Montrachet Marquis Laguiche from Domaine Joseph Drouhin, Château Grillet in the Rhône Valley or La Coulée de Serrant in the Loire Valley.

6. White wine pairings

Once again, pairing white wines is first and foremost a matter of taste and respect for the basic rules, the rest coming from experience and personal choice. However, it goes without saying that a sweet, syrupy wine will not be appreciated with the same dishes as a dry white wine. The former can be drunk as an aperitif, with foie gras, lobster, blue-veined cheese or certain desserts. Dry white wines go well with non-oily, grilled or marinated fish, or white meats. Some white wines can be used as an alternative for certain dishes that are difficult to marry, such as soups, salads or eggs. In this case, dry white wines can be more or less lively, more or less fatty, to compensate for the alteration that certain foods cause on the palate.