Even though thousands of years have passed since its creation, it is interesting, curious and enjoyable whenever one talks about this wine.
Today I intend to focus on white wine, with the aim of helping you deepen some of the aspects that contribute to a better understanding of it, a drink that is renowned the world over, whether enjoyed on its own or in a celebratory toast, from aperitif to It is indispensable in desserts, even in cooking, or in certain types of rituals.
The color of the wine can vary depending on the grape variety used or the winemaking method, so white wine can be obtained from white grapes or from red grapes through the white winemaking method. Although the latter is not so popular and common.
This happens because grapes, contrary to what one might think, have a soft, juicy, colorless pulp, and besides the fact that they are either white or red, the essential difference lies in the skin: the skin of red grapes is intensely colored. It is usually purple or black, while the white has no strong coloration and is usually yellow-green.
In both cases, white wine requires an understanding of the skin, which is what gives the wine its color. Because in the maceration process, the grape skins and grape juice need to be soaked.
Therefore, for the above reasons, to obtain good white wine, it is necessary to conceptually distinguish between “white” winemaking and “red” winemaking, which is why we say that white wine can also be obtained from red berries.
After the grapes are harvested, the grapes are separated from the stems, and then the grapes are pressed, which separates the pulp from the skins and seeds, in order to prevent the transfer of coloring substances and tannins to the wine during fermentation. The pulp is placed in stainless steel fermenters or, more rarely, in wooden barrels, from the beginning of fermentation to the final stage, and the wine is served in steel tanks, wooden barrels, cement tanks, amphora or other material containers according to the winemaker’s decision medium aging. When the wine is fully ripe, it is filtered to remove unwanted sediment and bottled in the complete absence of oxygen for the subsequent refining process.
Vineyards used to produce dry white wines are usually located in the north, rather than the south, and are best located in the hills at high altitudes, since white grapes do not require particularly hot climates to ripen.
White wines often have a beautiful brightness, also depending on whether they have significant acidity or sparkle, and often develop other colors near the rim of the wine, ranging from green, gold, copper or amber, depending on Their brewing status and residual sugar content.
There are many olfactory and palatable aromas that can be perceived in a glass of white wine, which define its specificity. Their origin may depend on the grape variety, fermentation process, ripening or extraction: in general fruit, flowers, herbs, classic aromas, minerals and seasoning aromas, generally depending on the intended vinification and processing methods , depends especially on the grape variety used, from the region where it grows, from the type of soil, from the environment in which it grows, from the climate, from the altitude, near the sea or mountains, in short, from its unique and inimitable terroir.
All wines must be served and tasted at the right temperature, each wine has its own ideal tasting temperature, if this law is respected, it will not weaken, or create negative organoleptic characteristics.
White wine has an obvious characteristic, that is its hardness, rather than softness, which is the so-called acidity and saltiness, so its drinking temperature must be lower than other types of wine. For example: dry Charmat sparkling wine is 4-6 degrees, classic method or champagne is at 6-8 degrees, and 10-12 degrees is suitable for more structured white wines.
Once we have identified the perfect temperature for drinking white wine, we just have to decide whether to taste it in total relaxation or to pair it with our food, in the latter case the rules are always the same and apply to any situation, That is: the characteristics of the wine must not overwhelm the characteristics of the food, on the contrary, it must also enhance the taste of the dishes and become complementary.
The rules for pairing wine with food do not change according to the type of wine, they are the same for everyone, as they focus on logical criteria that complement each other’s characteristics.
These combinations are coordinated according to the principle of “contrast”, such as when we talk about foods that need to apply the criterion of “consistency”, sweet, or when the food has a particularly persistent, aromatic or some special taste, then the pairing Wine must also have corresponding principles such as being particularly strong and persistent.
To give some examples, a white wine with a specific acidity and flavor will contrast well with a food with a sweet or fatty tendency, or a wine with a good alcohol content will always match a succulent dish.
If it is a nice dessert, such as a cake or pie at room temperature, or fresh from the oven, then our white wine should also be sweet, such as moscato, gewürztraminer, Zibibbo or passito, a raisin liqueur.
Without going into too much detail because I want to confuse anyone, an excellent dry white is recommended to accompany aperitifs, starters, first or second courses based on fresh fish, as well as vegetarian dishes, white meats and fresh or young cheeses Wine is always pretty classic.
Of course, there are almost scientific theories on which glass to use, and the perfect wine taster will have different tastes for the same wine depending on the glass he uses, but I think I recommend the Rhine glass (Renano). A classic wine tasting glass, colorless and transparent, the belly is not particularly big, the edge width of the wine glass is slightly smaller than the maximum circumference, so that we can appreciate the color and aroma of white wine
