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WHITE GRAPE VARIETIES

ALBARIÑO: the queen of white grapes/wine of the Rías Baixas area of Galicia in northwest Spain on the Atlantic Ocean. Makes one of the world's foremost seafood wines, with flavors of green apple, lemon, apricot and ginger. Called Alvarinho in Portugal, it is also planted in California.

ARNEIS: delicious, dry white varietal wine (named for the grape variety) of Piedmont, Italy. Best examples have lively acidity, no oak, and flavors of pear, nuts, spices and or licorice. This grape is now grown in Oregon and California.

ASSYRTIKO: one of the best native white grapes of Greece, it originates from the island of Santorini. Makes delicate, dry white with refreshing acidity and distinct mineral quality.

CHARDONNAY: world's finest white grape for making dry white wine. Originally from Champagne and Burgundy, France, it is also the name of a village in Macon. Blanc de Blanc French Champagnes are 100% Chardonnay, as are famous white Burgundies, including Chablis, Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Pouilly-Fuissé from Macon. When stainless steel fermented has varietal aromas of apple or melon and when barrel fermented picks up vanilla and toast from the oak. Most expensive versions are malo-lactic fermented which gives them a buttery flavor on top of their natural lemony acidity.

CHASSELAS: called Fendant in Switzerland where it is also used to make Neuchatel wines. Both are very light, dry whites. Also grown in Germany.

CHENIN BLANC: fruity white grape used to make Vouvray in Loire region of France. Can be made dry, medium-dry or sweet in Loire and California. Called "steen" in South Africa.

CORTESE: the grape variety of dry, elegant Gavi of the Piedmont, which is a DOCG and one of top 32 quality wines of Italy. Also grown in Temecula, California.

FIANO: delicious, crisp, citrusy, dry white grape and varietal wine from Sicily, Italy.

FURMINT: the grape of Hungary's famous amber colour dessert wine Tokaji Aszu.

GARGANEGA: the grape variety of Soave in the Veneto region of Italy.

GEWURZTRAMINER: one of only three pink-skinned grapes (the other two are Pinot Gris/Grigio and Moschofilero), it is the spiciest of all white wines. Can be made in sweet German style, or drier, higher alcohol Alsace style. Aromas are ripe tropical fruit, flowers, and perfume.

GRÜNER VELTLINER: the famous white grape and dry white wine of Austria. Has a noteworthy white pepper finish.

MALVASIA: sweet white grape, it is called Malmsey in Madeira. Also used to make white Porto, and many other dessert wines in Italy, California etc.

MARSANNE: one of the three white grapes of Rhône, France. It has an even more intense tangerine aroma and taste than Viognier (the best-known of the white Rhône grapes, the other being Rousanne). All three white Rhône grapes make very dry, full, rich white wines, but Marsanne can be made in a fruitier style. Marsanne is blended with Rousanne to make white Hermitage or white Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

MOSCHOFILERO: native pink-skinned grape of Greece, it makes a wonderful, full-bodied yet tart, dry wine with spice and spritz.

MUSCADET: name of the white grape used to make Muscadet in the Loire, France. Known for making crisp, dry wine perfect for oysters, seafood. This grape is also called the Melon or Melon de Bourgogne, and is also grown in Oregon.

MUSCADINE: a native American grape from vitis Rotundifolia family of grapes, not vitis Vinifera, which is the family of all the great European grapes such as Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon etc. Muscadine, which is grown in the southeastern USA, makes a very sweet wine with a characteristic aroma of petrol (gasoline).

MUSCAT: fruity, grapey, sweet white grape of Europe, it is also used in many California dessert wines. Called Moscato in Italy, where it makes Asti Spumante, it goes by the name of Moscatel in Spain and Portugal.

PALOMINO: the main grape used to make dry Sherry in Spain. Sweet Sherry is made from the Pedro Ximenez.

PARELLADA: one of several white grapes used to make CAVA sparkling wines in Spain.

PEDRO XIMENEZ: golden, sweet, honey-flavored varietal wine from Jerez, Spain where Sherry is made. It is also the source grape for sweet Cream Sherry.

PINOT BLANC: similar to a light Chardonnay, it is dry and elegant. Very popular in it's orginal home of Alsace, France, it is now used to make lovely, dry white wine in Oregon. It is excellent as an aperitif, or with appetizers.

PINOT GRIS: pink-skinned grape that makes slightly spicy and very popular dry white Alsace wines in France where it's also called Tokay d'Alsace. The name means "gray pinot" and is translated Pinot Grigio in Italian, and Italy's version is known and appreciated worldwide. Oregon also makes incredible examples.

PROSECCO: the grape used to make the white Prosecco sparkling wine in the Veneto region of Italy. Prosecco is inexpensive and extremely popular as a brunch wine.

RIESLING: finest white grape of Germany and Alsace, France where it originated. Can be made very dry to medium-dry to very sweet, the ripeness (sweetness) determining level of quality under German wine laws. Has a wonderful aroma of green apples or apple blossoms and in richer versions, peaches or apricots. California, Washington, Oregon also grow Riesling, and make either the drier, higher alcohol Alsace style, or the delicately fruity German style. Late-harvest and botrytis versions are sweet dessert wines. Whatever style, Riesling has perfectly balanced sweetness/acidity. No other grape comes close.

RKATSITELI: originally a Russian grape, for decades it has been grown by Dr. Konstantin Frank vineyards in Finger Lakes region of New York.

ROUSANNE: one of the three white Rhône grapes, and perhaps the most obscure. Used, along with Marsanne, to make white Hermitage or Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Now grown in California.

SAUVIGNON BLANC: white grape of Graves in Bordeaux, Pouilly-Fumé in Loire, France. Used in California Meritage dry whites that are blended like white Bordeaux with Sémillon and/or Muscadelle grapes added. Has citrusy aromas of grapefruit in best versions and is lighter in colour, body, and alcohol than Chardonnay. Only expensive ones are oak aged. Can be made into botrytis dessert wines.

SCHEUREBE: hybrid grape of Germany and the most successful cross between Riesling and Silvaner.

SÉMILLON: naturally sweeter white grape with fig flavors from Bordeaux, France where it is used to make the famous botrytis (noble rot) dessert wine Sauternes. Blended in dry white Meritage wines from California, it adds richness and body and tones down the grassiness of Sauvignon Blanc. Sémillon is also blended with Chardonnay in Australia to make Sem-Chard wines that more compatible with Pacific Rim (Asian influenced) cuisine.

SERCIAL: the grape used to make the driest style of Madeira. Used in Beef Wellington recipes.

SEYVAL: hybrid grape grown extensively in state of New York and eastern USA. Makes a very light, pleasant wine.

SILVANER: German white grape used to make dry, fiery, Franken wines that are very different from Riesling. Cross hybrids of Riesling X Silvaner in Germany include the perfumey Muller-Thurgau used to make inexpensive wines, such as Liebfraumilch, and the better tasting cross hybrid Scheurebe. Sylvaner is the correct spelling of this grape when it is grown in Alsace, France.

THOMPSON SEEDLESS: big, green, bland grapes we buy to eat as fruit or raisins. Used to make huge quantities of generic wine in California, such as California Chablis.

TOCAI: called Tocai Friulano because it is the dry, white grape of Italy's Friuli area in the northeastern part of the country. Not to be confused with Tokay d'Alsace, which is Pinot Gris grape.

TORRONTES: Spanish grape that has found new homes in South America and Australia, which makes the best tasting.

TREBBIANO: Italy's universal dry, white grape used to make varietal wines in Abruzzi and Marche, and the blended wines Soave and Frascati.

UGNI BLANC: called French Colombard in California, it is the French white grape used to make French Cognac where it is never sold as wine, being low in flavor but high in acidity.

VERDEJO: one of the best white grape varieties and dry white wines of Spain. It is called Verdelho in Madeira.

VERDICCHIO: grape used to make dry, white Verdicchio wine in Marche, Italy. Bottled in amphora-shaped bottles.

VERMENTINO: great white grape and wine of the Bolgheri district of Tuscany, Italy on the Mediterranean Sea.

VERNACCIA: ancient white grape and wine of the town of San Gimignano in Tuscany, Italy. The first official appellation (DOC) wine in Italy, it has a nutty flavor.

VIDAL: hybrid grape grown extensively in state of New York and the eastern USA. Used to make divine Ice Wine in New York and Niagara, Canada.

VIOGNIER: best white grape of Rhône, France where it is used to make beautiful tangerine, mandarin orange-scented, dry, full-bodied, high alcohol whites such as Condrieu. Now there are fantastic versions for small price from Languedoc, France and for big price from California and Oregon. In Rhône, France it can be blended with the other white grapes of the region, Marsanne and Rousanne.

VIURA: a fine Spanish grape variety and varietal wine, it is also called Macabeo when used in the blend of Spanish CAVA sparkling wines.