Drink up!
By David Setley
As the weather continues to warm up, many wine lovers tend to break out the white wines, along with the white slacks. Why? It’s all about the taste. In general, white wines have a higher level of acidity than red wines. Much as when you drink lemonade, acidity makes you salivate, making you feel more refreshed.
White wine grapes like Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc tend to ripen and be harvested earlier. Therefore, they retain more of the natural acidity in the grape. At bud break, when the grape first appears on the vine, the acidity is extremely high, and the sugar content is very low. The longer the grape is on the vine, the more the sugar develops, and the acidity diminishes. Most white wines are produced to feature crispness and freshness. Chilling white wines to about 45 degrees enhances the fresh acidity of the wine.
Data regarding preferences between white and red wine can be confusing. According to many surveys, including a recent survey by today.yougov.com, more than two-thirds of consumers, both male and female, said their preference was to red wine. According to an article in decanter.com, red wine consumption has been dropping for 20 years and currently accounts for 47% of international wine sales, while white has risen to 43%. When white wine and rosés are combined, they now account for over 50% of global wine sales.
When I started sommelier training, I believed myself to be mostly a red wine consumer. After learning more about and tasting more white varietals, I consider myself a wine agnostic. My preference depends on what I am eating or what I am looking for from the wine. In warmer months, I tend more to white wines.
In this column, I hope to expand your base of information about some wonderful white wines you may like to try this summer. I’m going to start in two countries that are clearly better known for their red wines than their whites, Italy and Spain.
I hope this article whets your appetite for the wine you are likely already seeing springing up more and more in your favorite wine store. As we head toward summer, I encourage you to stop and smell the roses, then open and enjoy the rosés! As always, contact me with any questions at dsetley@passionvines.com, or stop into the store. Until next time, Happy Wining!
David Setley is enjoying his retirement from higher education as a wine educator and certified sommelier at Passion Vines in Somers Point, New Jersey.
