What is your favorite grape and region for WHITE wine?

[Roy Hersh]

I am very interested to learn what your favorites are in terms of drinking/collecting white wines ... including bubbly. So, what grapes are your favorites for white and from what regions do you purchase them?

[Glenn E.]

German Riesling... BA and TBA of course.

[Brian C.]

My all time favorite white wine, which I can't get in Chicago, is Movia Lunar, which features the Ribolla Gialle grape. It's produced in Slovenia, just on the other side of the Italian border.

Lately I seem to like Verdejo, from the Spanish region of Rueda. I don't drink a lot of white wine, though.

[Eric Ifune]

Riesling, love German, Alsace, Wachau; but if I had to narrow it down, Alsace. Have more Trimbach Riesling than any other white. There, I've even narrowed it down to producer!

[Derek T.]

I rarely drink white wine but when I do I tend to drink Chablis.

[Peter W. Meek]

Riesling from M-S-R valleys. Preferably a Kabinett rather than the sweeter (and more highly-prized) Spatlese, Auslese, etc. That clean, tart, Granny Smith on the tongue.....

For bubbly, Prosecco from its home soil.

Some Moscato d'Asti if not too sweet. At 5% you can drink bottle after icy bottle on a hot summer day.

[Niklas J]

And the winner is....Riesling! Sorry Roy, I'm following the others in the thread so far.

A German Riesling whether it is from the Mosel region, Nahe, Pfalz, Rheingau is my pick and these are also the wines I collect. When checking the German Riesling's dominate amongst my whites with a 90% representation. Not the too sweet and not the too dry - I prefer a Spätlese. All time favourite producers are: from the Mosel region Willi Schaefer in Graach, from Nahe Hermann Dönnhoff and in the Rheinhessen Klaus-Peter Keller is the king!

If it wasn't for a cold refusing to let go of me I would pop one tonight!

Best,

Niklas

[Moses Botbol]

My favorites are:

Meursault - no particular favorite, but always welcome!

Champagne - Taittenger Comte de Champagne is my favorite. Prefer old wines with old dosage

Local Biel/Twann CH whites, nothing fancy but what way to spend a sunny afternoon.

Vinho Verde - can spend all day outside drinking VV with cigars or eating littlenecks.

[Roy Hersh]

My favorite is Chardonnay as expressed in white Burgundy. I am easy and although I really love a steely Chablis, my sweet spot is Meursault too. I often times prefer it to Puligny/Batard/Chevallier/and any other Montrachet. Then again, I've never had a Le Montrachet. Give me a fine Meursault anytime and I am a happy camper, especially with 11+ years of bottle age.

I am just as happy enjoying a great bottle of aged Schramsberg from CA as I am an expensive bottle of DP or Krug ... but I do like Cristal, Bollinger and Pol Roger, if I had to choose from France.

Riesling - I prefer Kabinett and Spaltese from MSR (JJ Prum does it best for me) and that's why I tend to drink plenty from Alsace (or did) because I avoid the mid-level sweetness ... unless going up for a BA or Eisweing or a rare TBA.

I can't stand too many Rhone or Bordeaux white wines (not including dessert wines) as I am very rarely enthused whatsoever.

Locally, I really like Semillon from Columbia Valley and a few Sauvignon Blancs too, but I'd rather drink Sauv. Bl from So. Africa or NZ in the summertime.

Douro whites and Vinho Verde is something we have less often, more for special occasions nowadays, but I really like a FEW of from each region.

From CA, the only white wine I purchase is typically Hanzell Chardonnay, but nothing younger than 15 years of bottle age as a general rule.

I love some of the Italian whites. From wood-aged Soave (new to me, thanks to Peter Meek's buddy) to Trebbiano and especially dry Moscato D'Asti.


And to think that I drink probably 85-90% red grape wine ... (not including Madeira of course).

[Daniel R.]

Alvarinho, from Vinho Verde region is my white of choice (although I must admit there are some very good Albarinos from Galicia) .

[Brian C.]

I love some of the Italian whites. From wood-aged Soave (new to me, thanks to Peter Meek's buddy) to Trebbiano and especially dry Moscato D'Asti.

Ever try Cortese, from the Gavi region? A real winner with seafood. I definitely need to try Soave.

Directed to the group, has anyone had experience with Aligote from Burgundy? I have a bottle at home, waiting for the right occasion to try it.

[Moses Botbol]

I know some Hasidic Jews that buy Moscato (both dry and sweet) from Italy that is really great they serve on the Sabbath. Low on the alcohol and price tag. Comes in a blue bottle.

[David Spriggs]

Hmmm.... tough choices. If based on what I buy it would be California Chardonanny. We do drink a lot of Champagne, so if price is no object that would likely be my choice. In the past I bought quite a bit of Chablis, but as that area was rediscovered by collectors the prices doubled in the last 6 years and I lost interest in playing.

[Gary Banker]

I guess terrantez, sercial, verdelho, boal. and malvasia don't apply in this thread, so...

Reisling from M-S-R, from kabinett to TBA. It goes with a wide variety of foods, including highly spiced Korean and Thai food, and is equally good with or without food. I, for one, find white burgundy unsuited to drinking by itself.

Honorable mention to viognier from Washington and California. I prefer it to non-German riesling.

[Peter W. Meek]

I love some of the Italian whites. From wood-aged Soave (new to me, thanks to Peter Meek's buddy) to Trebbiano and especially dry Moscato D'Asti.

Ever try Cortese, from the Gavi region? A real winner with seafood. I definitely need to try Soave.

For years, Soave (like Chianti) had a bad rep because it was made to be sold cheap - and was. Huge yields per hectare and little care taken with production.

Someone figured out for both of these wines that something special could be made from these grapes (and sold for a profitable price). So, they did. Today's Soave and Chianti are nothing like the wines of 3-4 (5-8?) decades ago.

For a Moscato d'Asti that isn't cloyingly sweet, try Beni di Batasiolo Bosc dla Rei; it's still fairly sweet, so it needs to be very cold.
--------on another note------

I just had a REALLY nice Puglian Chardonnay last night. Big admission from someone whose motto was stolen from a movie a few years back: ABC! And whose strong feeling was that there weren't many good Italian wines originating from anywhere south of Rome.

[Eric Menchen]

I know very little about whites in general, but here goes ... A long time ago I used to like Spatlese, an inherited taste from my parents. I still enjoy many of the German whites, but am overwhelmed by the choices so I don't buy them very often. I distinctly do not like buttery Chardonnays, and thus tend to avoid that genre altogether. There are probably some I would like, but there are many other things out there to try. I most definitely like Vinho Verde, and have been drinking a lot of this in the past couple of years. It would qualify as my current favorite. I recently bought a few French whites to try and some were good, but none overwhelming. I also just bought several bottles of an Albarino. It wasn't overwhelmingly wonderful either, but I think I'd like to explore this style a little more.

[Scott R.]

For Everyday Enjoyment: Cava, Greek Whites (Assyrtiko, Moschofilero, Malagousia), Austrian Whites (Gruner Veltliner, Zierfandler)

For Cellaring: White Burgundy

For Ever Occasion: Sherry!

[dom carter]

Ah the immortal Sauvignon Blanc (love the citrus tones) especially from the Loire region of France, wins for me;

A fine "flinty" Sancerre or "smokey" Pouilly-Fume are good on there own or if you must eat - enjoy them with fish/seafood or any chicken dish in a cream sauce.

Regards

Dom

[Michael Hann]

I probably drink Alsatian whites the most often and enjoy them the most. Other than Port, I always drink wine with an appropriate food combination (I also drink German white wines such as Spatlesen and Auslesen rieslings by themselves, but I don't drink these often). I like to cook Alsatian foods, and their whites complement their food exceptionally well. As with many others, I like a good Alsatian riesling -- dry but with good acid and body, not a spindly, thin wine at all. Also, I find that I like Alsatian Pinot Gris (aka Alsatian 'Tokay' or 'Tokay Pinot Gri') quite a lot. This wine, too, complements many Alsatian foods, particularly those involving potatoes.

I also like Sauvignon Blancs and find that these wines often seem to be what I reach for when seeking a partner to many of the dishes I cook.

[Marc J.]

Id say that French Sauvignon Blanc would be my choice. I think the mineral aspect adds quite a bit complexity to it, but still retains a nice crisp refreshing overall character.