Glossary of White Grapes

This glossary of white grapes includes popular white grape varieties and some grapes that are less popular and used as blending grapes. Varieties of white grapes are indexed alphabetically.

We also have a glossary of red grape varieties.

Choose a letter to view.

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

A

Airén -- The most widely grown white grape in Spain. It accounts for over 30 percent of Spanish wine production primarily in the La Mancha region. It is a neutral, drought-resistant variety and used for producing varietal whites and also used as a blending grape for bolder reds of the Valdepenas region.

Albarińo (Alvarinho) -- High quality variety grown in Galicia's Rias Baixas region, where it produces aromatic, full-bodied, peachy and grapefruity whites which go beautifully with the local Atlantic shellfish, and known as Alvarinho in neighbouring Portugal's Vinho Verde.

Aligoté -- This variety is the second most popular grape of Burgunday, after Chardonnay. It produces crisp, sharp, if neutral dry whites, with a lemony tang of acidity. It is also considered an ideal base wine for the French aperitif "kir".

Assyrtiko -- Assyrtiko's origin is on the volcanic island of Santorini. Since the 1970's is has adapted to the mainland of Greece. It is more of a wine-lover's grape than a crowd pleaser. It is known for its high acidity and staying power. It is a grape that can make fine bone-dry wines as well as amber-hued dessert wines.

Top

B

Bacchus -- Aromatic, Sauvignon-like dry white, a crossing of Silvaner plus Riesling with Müller-Thurgau popular in Germany, also used in England.

Bombino -- This is an important southern Italian white variety which at low yields can produce dry whites with character such as Valentini's Trebbiano d'Abruzzo.

Top

C

Chardonnay -- The primary white wine grape of the Bourgogne region in France. It is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. In Australia and New Zealand, Chardonnay varietal wines are among the most popular white wines. As of 2005, Chardonnay is the most widely planted grape in Australia. Part of the attraction of Chardonnay, for wine makers and lovers alike, is its versatility. In the U.S., it is often made using full malolactic fermentation to soften the acidity and some oak handling.

Clairette -- Ancient Languedoc grape used in many of southern France's regions. It is usually blended with grenache, picpoul or Ugni Blanc.

Colombard -- This varietal is associated with Armagnac and Cognac, for which it is distilled in south-west France. Not a popular status grape variety, it is used to make commercial dry white style such as vin de pays des Côtes de Gascogne.

Cortese -- Grown in Piedmont, it produces a dry white with crisp Alpine acidity probably best appreciated in the wines of Gavi and also forming part of Verona's Bianco di Custoza.

Top

E

Ehrenfelser -- This is a hybrid white wine grape made in Germany by crossing Riesling and Sylvaner. Advantageous for a better ripening over a wider range of sites, but has low acidity and does not age as well as Riesling.

Ezerjo -- Widely grown in Hungary and also Yugoslavia. It produces full-bodied, refreshing wine of the same name.

F

Fernăo Pires -- A quality white grape grown throughout Portugal but especially in Ribatejo and Bairrada where it's known as Maria Gomes.

Furmint -- Susceptible to raisining and noble rot (known as aszú in Hungary's Tokaji), this full-bodied, high acid quality grape is the major partner in the blend with Hárslevelú which makes up Tokaji, the rich, long-lived wines of the Tokaj region in Hungary. It can produce a good, fiery dry white too. It's also grown in Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia and Romania.

Top

G

Garganega -- Is a variety of white wine grape widely grown in the Veneto region of North East Italy, particularly in the provinces of Verona and Vicenza. It forms the basis of the well-known white wine Soave (along with up to 30% of Trebbiano). It can be delicately almondy and crisp.

Gewürztraminer -- An aromatic white wine grape variety that performs best in cooler climates. The variety has high natural sugar and the wines are usually off-dry. Dry Gewürztraminers may also have aromas of roses, passion fruit and floral notes.

Grechetto -- One of Italy's more characterful dry white grape varieties principally responsible for the slightly fennel-like Umbrian whites of Orvieto and also Vin Santo.

Top

H

Hárslevelú -- Important partner with Furmint in the Tokaji blend bringing aromatic and spicy properties to the blend, and also grown in other parts of central Europe.

Huxelrebe -- An aromatic German variety with grapefruity undertones mainly grown in Pfalz and Rheinhessen with small quantities planted in England.

Top

I

Inzolia -- Grown mainly in Sicily and in Tuscany. Used commonly in white table wines, it has an acidic, nutty flavour.

Iona -- A New York-based hybrid grape used for producing dry, sparkling white wines.

Top

K

Kerner -- Reliable ripener and successful Riesling-based grape largely replacing Silvaner in Germany, where it's a better bet than either Silvaner or Müller-Thurgau.

Top

L

Listan -- Also known as Palomino, the Spanish grape variety is used best in large quantities for Sherry production. It's also planted widely around the world, used to produce low quality table wines.

Top

M

Macabeo -- Widely planted in northern Spain and around the Mediterranean vineyards of Roussillon and Languedoc, where it's known as Maccabeu, needing low yields for quality Malvasia (white). This is an ancient Mediterranean-based variety whose heartland is Italy. , where it makes anything from dry white and red wines to the rich, sweet, fragrant whites of the islands, notably Sardinia, Lipari close to Sicily. It's common in Spain and Portugal and in Madeira and is responsible for the rich Madeira wine known as Malmsey.

Marsanne -- This is a quintessential northern Rhône grape variety with a faintly nutty character usually blended with the zippier Roussanneto make the dry whites of Crozes Hermitage, St.Joseph, Côtes du Rhône and at its best, the rare white Hermitage. Marsanne grapes tend to be low in acidity, so both must and wine have tendencies to oxidation and browning. This grape's varietal character has little tolerance for weather that is either too cool or too warm and bland. The round, medium-gold to amber Marsanne grapes make a deep-colored wine that is also fairly full-bodied, sometimes described as almost "waxy".

Melon de Bourgogne -- The grape is grown in the popular appellation of the western Loire. It is used solely in the production of the light white wine known as Muscadet. The Melon variety is not a particularly distinguished variety, but, when genuinely made sur lie, i.e. left on its lees for added zippy complexity, it can be transformed into a bracing summer white with a sort of sea-salty freshness, making it the perfect accompaniment to shellfish.

Müller-Thurgau -- The grape most widely planted in Germany, Muller-Thurgau comes as a mix of riesling and sylvaner. This is also grown in Austria, New Zealand, and the northwest section of the US. It has a floral aroma. It can produce decent wine in Italy's Alto-Adige, eastern Europe and in England.

Muscadelle -- The least of the Bordeaux trio of Sauvignon, Semillon and Muscadelle, this grape nevertheless adds a certain fragrant quality to the dry and sweet whites of Bordeaux and is responsible for the wonderfully sticky, malty, fortified Tokays of north-east Victoria.

Muscat -- This is a very grapey-tasting grape that doesn't ripen easily. There are various varieties of Muscat - Muscat Blanc, Moscato (Italy), Muscat of Alexandria, and Muscadel. Moscato is the grape used for Asti Spumanti, the sparkling wine from Italy.

Top

O

Optima -- A recent grape variety grown in Germany which combines Riesling, Sylvaner and Muller-Thurgau. It is used mainly to add sugar to wines. On it's own it tends to produce mediocre wines. Consumed maily in Germany.

Top

P

Palomino -- Palomino is the sherry grape grown in the vineyards of Jerez in southern Spain, where it performs best in Jerez' white, chalk-like albariza soils. It is low in acidity and fruit sugar which makes it ideal for the production of sherry.

Parellada -- Spanish variety mostly used in the production of cava, but also used to make a refreshing dry white in the Penedčs region.

Pedro Ximénez -- The counterpart to Palomino in the Jerez region of Spain, PX, as it's nicknamed, produces dark, sweet, raisiny fortified wines and is used as a blender to sweeten Oloroso sherry.

Petit and Gros Manseng -- Vine varieties from Jurançon in south-western France making assertive, grapefruity dry whites and, in the case of the superior petit manseng, luscious sweet whites from late harvesting.

Picpoul -- Another ancient Languedoc white variety, also known as Piquepoul, which in the lively dry whites of Picpoul de Pinet, is a perfect match with the locally farmed oysters and mussels.

Pinot Blanc -- This grape has a flavour very much like Chardonnay wine. It can be a somewhat neutral wine, but can also be quite apple and pear-like in character and act as a very good accompaniment to fish and shellfish. It is grown in Alsace, Italy, and Austria (where it's known as Weissburgunder). It is a mutation of the Pinot Gris grape. It's used in many Californian sparkling wines. Perhaps because of its neutral character, it is also extensively used in Alsace as a base for sparkling Crémant d'Alsace.

Pinot Gris -- Pinot Gris, aka Tokay Pinot Gris in Alsace, is a slightly spicier and more expressive version of its stablemate, Pinot Blanc, and actually a mutation of Pinot Noir. It is one of the chief dry white varieties in Alsace, but also produces some deliciously sweet, ageworthy, late-harvest styles. It is the same grape as northern Italy's Pinot Grigio, Germany's Grauburgunder or Ruländer and Hungary's Szürkebarát.

Prosecco -- This is the Italian white grape that is grown in the Veneto region in northeastern Italy. This is the grape that produces the soft, gently bubbling Italian sparkling wine which is has the same name as the grape "Prosecco".

Top

R

Reichensteiner -- Three-way crossing by the late Dr Helmut Becker with Germany's Müller-Thurgau, France's madeleine angevine and Italy's calabrese, also planted in England and New Zealand.

Riesling -- Riesling wine is native to Germany. It is the one true classic non-French grape. Riesling can produce dry crisp and fruity wine as well honeyed, musky flavours in warmer climate. The Finger Lakes region of New York are well known for their Rieslings. The late-ripening Riesling's heartland is the steep Mosel and Rheingau valleys of Germany, where it produces wines rich in crisp, lime and appley flavours and honeyed richness. Riesling is also used in the creation of Ice Wines.

Roditis -- Roditis has a number of clones, the most aromatic being Migdali and Alepou, both of which have a pinkish skin. This grape is a crowd pleaser and, as such, is widely planted all over Greece, forming the backbone of the Patras appellation in the northwestern Peloponnese.

Roussanne -- This is grown in the Rhone, and also in Languedoc-Roussillon and in California. It is considered to be the sister to Marsanne with which it is often blended.

Top

S

Sauvignon Blanc -- This variety has its origin in the Bordeaux region of France. It is now planted in many of the world's wine regions, producing a crisp, dry, and refreshing white varietal wine. This grape variety is also a component of the famous dessert wines from Sauternes and Barsac in France. Depending on climate, the flavor can range from aggressively grassy to sweetly tropical. Wine experts often use the phrase "cat's pee on a gooseberry bush" as a favorable description of Sauvignon blanc from the Loire Valley and New Zealand. Sauvignon Blanc became a varietal with an alias in California, where it is now often known and labeled as "Fumé Blanc".

Sauvignon Vert -- This grape is grown mostly in Chile where it is also known as sauvignonasse. Chilean wines that are labeled sauvignon blanc can be either true sauvignon blanc or sauvignon vert.

Savagnin -- Rustic grape of Jura producing whites with a distinctive 'terroir' character whose apogee is reached in the sherry-like (but unfortified) Vin Jaune of Jura and Château-Chalon.

Scheurebe -- Underrated German grape variety not unlike French Sauvignon Blanc in its ability to produce catty, grapefruit-like whites, mostly dry, but occasionally, notably in Austria, opulently rich and sweet.

Semillon -- A golden-skinned grape, Semillon is used to make dry and sweet white wines, most notably in France and Australia. Semillon is generally blended with the aromatic Sauvignon Blanc in Bordeaux to produce the fine dry whites of Pessac-Leognan in the Graves, which are often barrel-fermented. Generally, its richness and body is often used to complement the aromatic Sauvignon Blanc. In cool climates such as New Zealand, it can develop pungently grassy characteristics.

Silvaner -- This is a variety of white wine grape grown in Alsace and Germany. It is best known as a component of Liebfraumilch. With skilled winemaking, Sylvaner can produce elegant wine. It has high acidity but is naturally quite sweet, so it is often blended with other varieties such as Riesling or Elbling, and sometimes made into a dessert wine.

St. Emilion -- This is the name given to the grape grown in the Cognac region for the grape called ugni blanc. Do not confuse this with the town in Bordeaux called St. Emilion.

Top

T

Tocai Friulano -- No relation to the Hungary's Tokaji or Alsace's tokay Pinot gris, tocai friulano, also known as Sauvignon vert or Sauvignonasse, is at its best in the hills of Italy's Friuli region, where it makes a refreshingly crisp, nutty dry white style.

Torrontés -- Fragrant, grapey, Muscat-like Spanish variety common in Argentina, to which it may have been originally transported from Galicia, Spain.

Trebbiano -- The most widely planted white variety in Italy. It makes an undistinguished wine at best. It can be fresh and fruity, but doesn't keep long. Its high acidity makes it important in cognac production in France. In Lugana and Abruzzo, thanks to low-yields and careful winemaking, producers manage to get some Chardonnay-like character out of this grape.

Top

U

Ugni-blanc -- Known as Trebbiano (see above) and Saint Emilion, a grape grown extensively in France - mainly used in Cognac and Gascony - as well as Italy and the New World.

Top

V

Verdejo -- One of Spain's higher quality white grapes grown around Rueda where it is sometimes blended with Sauvignon Blanc to add body and richness to Sauvignon's aromatic lift.

Verdelho -- Portuguese variety grown in Madeira where it makes a fortified style between Sercial and Bual and grown as a still wine grape in Australia, especially Western Australia.

Verdello -- This is one of the blending grapes used to make the Italian wine Orvieto.

Verdicchio -- High quality grape from the DOC in the Marche region of Italy with good body and faintly spicy flavours. The grapes are also used to make sparkling wine.

Vermentino -- Distinctively perfumed Mediterranean white with good acid retention grown in Italy mainly in Sardinia and Liguria, and known in Provence, Languedoc and Corsica as Rolle.

Vernaccia di San Gimignano -- This dry white variety's main claim to fame is that it's grown around the picturesque, medieval town of San Gimignano in Sardinia.

Viognier -- Viognier can be a difficult grape to grow because it is prone to powdery mildew. It also has low and unpredictable yields and needs to be picked only when fully ripe. It is aromatic with blossom scents and apricot and peach-like flavours and has become the darling of California, Argentina, Australia and the South of France. It makes powerfully rich, dry whites made for drinking young, offering a delicious alternative style to Chardonnay.

Top

W

Welschriesling -- As a Central European grape variety, it has many names, such as olsazriesling (in Hungary), laski Riesling (in Slovenia), and Riesling italico (in Italy). Also known as the 'poor man's Riesling', Welschriesling is actually not related to the superior rhine Riesling of Germany at all. It is at its best in Austria, where it can make sumptuously sweet dessert whites. Germany's attempt to distance it from rhine Riesling has resulted in a change of name for all pretenders to rizling.

Top

X

Xarel-lo -- Earthy, undistinguished a Spanish Catalan variety normally used as a blender in cava along with Parellada and Macabeo.

Top

Glossary of Red Grapes from A - L.

Glossary of Red Grapes from M - Z.

Are You Looking for More Information? Just type in a search term below.

Please come back to visit us soon!

Search the Web:

Return from Glossary White Grapes to Home