Raise your hand if you find buying wine really challenging...my hand is up!!!  With so many wine choices and labels on the shelves where does one start? 

As with most things, it is best to start by figuring out what you like.  This can be done by understanding the differences between the most common grape varietals, and what flavours and styles of wine you might expect from them. 

This makes sense.  Like food, knowing the ingredients used in a dish gives some insight into how it might taste.  Wine consumers can also choose and make better evaluations of a wine when they have a clue about the basic flavour of the main ingredient:  the grape.

In a sense, all wine grapes are the same because the majority come from the Eurasian grape vine species vitis vinifera.    Yet within that one vine species there are thousands of varieties, 4000 and 8000 (or more) depending on which expert you read.   These varietals each have different characters and flavours, plus they thrive in different climates and soil conditions which further influences their taste profile.  Just look at the images below...they all look different too!



The good news is that tasting practice can help you form an impression about a specific varietal and find out what you like.  Yet keep in mind that you may find a Chardonnay you like only to try another and realize that there can be considerable variation in Chardonnay wine styles and quality depending on the skill of the winemaker.  The same applies to all other varietals.

For the modern consumer there are a handful of internationally known varietals that dominate global wine production.  Let's start by briefly looking at 5 well-known white grape varietals readily available in Singapore, and look at some of their standard appearances, aromas, and tastes.




Chardonnay originally comes from the Burgundy region of France but is now planted widely around the world.  It is a very versatile wine grape that's colour in the glass can range from lemon, yellow green to light/medium gold.  It doesn't have inherently strong aromatic qualities so the vineyard conditions and the winemaking choices around oak usage and ageing can make a huge difference in how the finished wine will taste.

On the nose, Chardonnay readily shows the climate and soil where it is grown; in cool climates such as the Chablis region (northern France), the limestone soils and cool climate produce wines with a steely, mineral character that give aromas of green apple and green plum.  In warmer climates like the US, Australia and Chile, Chardonnay produces wines with ripe aromas of melon, peach and even tropical fruit notes like pineapple.   

On the palate the winemaker's stylistic choices are more apparent.   Because Chardonnay is a natural for oak ageing/influence, the amount of oak and what kind of oak influence the winemaker chooses will influence the final wine style tremendously.  Oaked Chardonnays generally have richer, nutty and toasty nose and palate.  Many New World producers overdo the oak with cost cutting methods like using oak staves rather than oak barrel ageing (Read Ed Says), but those who use it judiciously get fantastic results.

The other variable in flavour will come from the malo-lactic fermentation decisions the winemaker makes (giving that buttery flavour) and whether the wine has had time to age on its lees.  OK.  These are very complex wine-topics that merit much further discussion later, but suffice to say that a winemaker can have his/her way with a Chardonnay and create very individual wines if they have good fruit to start!




Most people in Singapore would know Sauvignon Blanc as a New Zealand specialty and with good reason.  Even though the varietal has a much longer history in France, both in the Bordeaux and Loire Valley regions, it has taken to Kiwi growing conditions perfectly and put New Zealand on the global quality wine map.  (Read Nose to the Ground)

Colour-wise Sauvignon Blancs can be almost clear to pale yellow with some green tinges.   The Old World examples from Bordeaux will look a little more yellow than their Loire cousins, though still not as yellow/golden as most Chardonnays.   On the nose Sauvignon Blanc gives pronounced herbaceous aromas along with gooseberry, guava, passionfruit, cut grass, grapefruit, and even asparagus.  

On the palate Sauvignon Blancs give the same sorts of flavours.  For the most part these wines are meant to be drunk young while they are both fruity and fresh. Generally speaking, the varietal prefers a cooler climate, like Marlborough, NZ or the Sancerre region of France.  In warmer climates the wines generally do not develop the same aromatic profile and can be much less interesting and flabby.




Pinot Gris is recently enjoying much commercial success, particularly in Asia.  It is well-known as a native to the Alsace region of France where the wines are fragrant and elegant, as well as in Northern Italy where the wine is made in a much crisper, drier style (Pinot Grigio).  Depending on their origins, these wines can be light gold to delicate shades of pale yellow. 

Pinot Gris can be beautifully perfumed with aromas of ripe pear or they can show very light, crisp, wines with a mineral quality an hint of lemon, again, depending on their origins.   This range of characteristics carry through to the palate giving a weightier, more aromatic fruit profile in the Alsatian styles and a beautifully refreshing lightness in Pinot Grigio styles.  Either style makes for easy food pairing with Asian and Western foods making Pinot Gris a wine worth getting to know.




While Chardonnay may be versatile in the winery, Riesling is without doubt the most versatile right out of the vineyard.  Naturally high in acidity and capable of amazing maturation, Rieslings can be very interesting and satisfying wines.  In some respects, they seem enigmatic because they can be made into so many styles;  from bone-dry, racy wines to honeyed, late-harvest, concentrated sweet wines.   

Given the range of styles it's impossible to define a particular colour descriptor for a Riesling.  These wines can be anything from pale yellow with some glints of green to rich, golden colours.  The same goes for the nose.  Dry styles vary tremendously; classic German Rieslings can give beautiful floral and apple aromas showing very faint petrol notes with age, whereas New World examples can be more lemon-lime in character, still ageing with some of the petrol notes showing.  

Depending on the style and harvest date(e.g. late harvest concentrates the sugars), winemakers have a great deal of leeway to make their wines at all levels of residual sugar.  This is only possible because the naturally high acidity of the Riesling grape provides the needed ‘lift' to make these 'sweeter' wines neither cloying nor heavy.  Other varietals don't have this ability.

Talk to any wine merchant in Singapore and they will likely tell you that Rieslings are a great pair for Asian foods.  They aren't lying, particularly for spicier Asian foods.  In the off-dry styles, the residual sugar helps put out the chili heat in many dishes while that signature acidity lifts all of the flavours to a pleasant aftertaste.  Go ahead...order up some spicy noodles and pair it with an off-dry (semi-sweet) Riesling.   You'll see...rather taste, how Riesling helps to tame that chili.




Muscat makes the grapiest smelling and grapiest tasting of all wines.  Many wine novices are quickly drawn to the easy, sweet and slightly prickly Moscato D'Asti no doubt because they are attractive and easily understood.  Muscat wines range from very light in alcohol, which is appealing, to fortified styles that are high in alcohol and residual sugar.  Much like Riesling wines they are of varied colour; from nearly transparent with pink hues (Moscato D'Asti) to golden yellow (Muscat Beaume de Venise, Frontignan).  On the nose and palate there is an unmistakable grape aroma and flavour...isn't that what wine should smell and taste like?    For beginners, Muscat is a good place to begin the wine-appreciation journey.  Just try not to end the journey there!

Keep in mind that much as the base ingredients will determine the quality of a food dish, the grape varietal determines the unique flavours and characters of a wine.  Don't be deterred if the first Chardonnay or Sauvignon that you drink doesn't suit... keep tasting!  You'll eventually find a wine that is a beautiful companion to your favorite meal and a life-long friend to your palate.

Go on...search your local wine shop to make some new wine friends.  Try different wines with your favorite dishes.  You'll never know what you like (or don't like) until you do.  

Next time we will look at the big 5 of red grapes...meanwhile try some TLN recommended whites. (go to the Wine Search and under TYPE choose 'white' + tick the  'recommended only' box on the bottom right of the search grid)

There are some beautiful friends in those search results!

Contributed by Ed Soon (Broad Nose) and Sarah Mayo (TLN Editor)