Isn’t it important to know about your palate before choosing the best white wine for yourself? Be it for personal use, addition to your wine cellar or to choose the best one to pair up with your style of cooking, we have brought it all together.
This blog will differentiate between the most popular White Wines- Chardonnay vs Pinot Grigio vs Sauvignon Blanc vs Riesling.
So, lets go one level deeper and get answers to questions like- Acidity level? Alcohol Level? Food Pairing? Taste Profile and so on…
Table of Difference
DIFFERENCE | CHARDONNAY | PINOT GRIGIO | SAUVIGNON BLANC | RIESLING |
Origin | Bordeaux & Burgundy, France | Burgundy Region, France | Italy & France | Germany |
Acidity | Medium level | Low level | High level | Medium to High level |
Body | Medium to Full Bodied | Light to Full Bodied | Medium Bodied | Light Bodied |
Sweet or Dry | Dry | Dry & Sweet both | Dry | Mostly Sweet |
Flavor Profile | Green Apple, Vanilla, Lemon Custard, Hazelnut | Golden Apple, Poached Pear & Peaches | Fresh, Crisp with Lemon & Lime | Apples, Apricots, Peaches & Minerals |
Food Pairing | Scallop, Halibut, Pasta & Pork | Chicken, Seafood, Pasta & Fried food | Shellfish, Fish, Salad & Appetizers | Seafood, Asian cuisine- Thai & Indian |
Ideal Serving Temperature | 48 degrees | 45-50 degrees | 46-52 degrees | 48 degrees |
Aging | 2.5-10 years | 2-3 years | 1-7.5 years | 1-5 years |
Aroma | Vanilla, Cedar, Butterscotch, Lemon | Lime, Nectarine, Honeysuckle, Minerals | Melon, Gooseberry, Lemon, Elderflowers | Apple, Peaches, Honeysuckle, Minerals |
Appearance | Medium Lemon or Pale Gold | Pale Lemon | Lemon Green | Pale Lemon |
Alcohol Level | High, 13.5-14.5% | Medium, 12.5-13.5% | Medium, 12.5-13.5% | Low, under 12.5% |
Popularity |
7 Essential White Wine Facts
- France, Italy, Spain and California are the largest white wine producers in the world.
- A wine bottle should never be stored in a kitchen or in a fridge, as one is too hot and the other is too cold. Check the ideal serving temperature of the wine before storing and serving. We recommend you the Best Undercounter Wine Cooler of 2021, check out our blog for more details.
- Red wine suits best with red meat & White wine suits best with chicken and seafood.
- White wines should always be served at a lower temperature (45-50 degrees F) as compared to red wines (50-60 degrees F).
- The sweeter the wine, more are the calories than a dry red or white wine.
- White wine has the tendency to gain color with time.
- All wines do not age well. The fact is that very few will last longer than a decade.
Read our latest blogs on Types of Dry White Wines and Types of Sweet & Fruity White Wines and check out the best recommended white wines just for you!
Myths about White Wine
Well, there are thousands of myths about wines, but for your limited attention span we can only bust a few. Check out these untrue list of myths revolving around white wine:
- White wine should be served ice-cold.
- Pairing red wine with chicken and white wine with fish.
- Chardonnay is always buttery and rich.
Find out- Is Chardonnay Champagne?
- White wine does not contain sulfites.
- Sweet white wines should be paired with deserts.
To know more in detail about white wines, Sauvignon Blanc vs Pinot Grigio differences might make your choice easier.