20 Best White Wines For Beginners In 2023
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Many people who are new to white wine don't know where to start. There is a wide variety of white wines available, and it can be daunting for the beginner to figure out which ones best suit their palate.
In this blog post, we'll give you excellent options of white wines as well as some insight about their flavor profiles and roots so you can figure out what suits your tastes!
Best White Wine for Beginners
1. Duckhorn Sauvignon Blanc 2020
Napa Valley is known for its beautiful scenery and tranquil existence. The wine-making capabilities of this region are no different, producing some of the most flavorful wines in the world. This particular Sauvignon Blanc is reminiscent of a fruity, tropical paradise.
You’ll notice hints of mango and pineapple and other citrus fruits like key lime pie and honeydew melon from the first whiff. The taste will remind you more than anything else on earth that it's summertime, with its flavors ranging from orange blossom to elderflower.
This white wine has an incredibly delicate texture in addition to lively tannins, which carries through until the finish, where minerality shines alongside bright fruitiness for roundness and flavor depth without any unpleasant bitterness or astringency.
2. Schug Sauvignon Blanc 2019
When looking for a satisfying and refreshing white wine with some bright acidity, look no further than the Schug Sauvignon Blanc 2019! The grapes used for this well-balanced white wine are harvested from vineyards in the Southern part of Sonoma Coast AVA.
Located in Western Carneros and North of Petaluma, these vineyards are responsible for Sauvignon Blanc's distinct spice and tannins. The Leveroni vineyard also helps the Sauvignon "musque" clone produce a great floral taste.
The tasty and refreshing white wine is made of a blend with the citrus flavor of lemon zest, fragrant grapefruit taste, ripe white peaches with lime juice drizzled on top. The fruity flavors are enhanced by honeydew melon and crisp minerality. This makes a perfect pair to any seafood dish!
3. Far Niente Chardonnay 2018
Far Niente Chardonnay is a rich and complex white wine that has been aged to perfection. To create this delicious drink, grapes are handpicked from the various estate vineyards then sorted at the winery before being fermented in stainless tanks and racked in new French oak barrels.
The Far Niente Chardonnay is one of the most approachable white wines for any palate. The wine starts with a silky entry that builds on the tongue, leaving you feeling like you're sipping something decadent and delicious.
Sweet melon and citrus dance in your mouth while hints of white floral and toasted vanilla tease from afar as this chard evolves into an even more complex beverage. This is among those wines that are worth storing in your best wine fridge .
4. Kunde Chardonnay 2019
The Kunde Family Estate comprises an array of different colonies, each contributing their own selection to produce complexity in the flavor profile. It also has a focus on easy sipping drinkability for all those who enjoy slightly chilled wine .
This is for wine drinkers looking for a satisfying taste bud experience. Barrel fermentation offers richness and vibrancy while creating just enough oakiness so no one will be disappointed by these lesser-known varietals!
This bright Chardonnay is the best white wine for a delicious food pairing of chicken, seafood, and pasta. With apple, melon, and peach hints that are balanced with toast and vanilla on top of barrel fermentation in French oak, it's no wonder why Sonoma has become one of California's most popular tourist destinations!
5. Domaine Claude Branger Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine Sur Lie Terroir Les Gras Moutons 2018
There are many vineyards in Sèvre et Maine, but Les Gras Moutons is regarded as one of the best. They make richly fragrant and aromatic wines that have a structure to them and can be tightly textured. They're full of acidity, which makes them refreshingly tart with some minerality for added complexity.
The wine is left on the lees for 12-14 months and has a round, concentrated taste. It can be aged beautifully with aromas that are similar to Riesling or Pinot Blanc.
Lemon freshness, sea salt minerality, spice, and zest make it perfect for serving as an apéritif when you have oysters that taste like they were just caught today! You can share this delightful white wine with your friends while playing some fun wine games .
6. Zilliken Rausch Riesling Grosses Gewächs 2019
The Rausch vineyard is renowned for producing Zilliken's best dry white wines. The top wine from this estate, the GG Riesling, offers a nose of refreshing melon and lemon curd with hints of meadow flowers in its delicate aroma.
The palate dances across citrus flavors like orange and passion fruit before finishing on candied lemons complemented by an acidity that makes it a light-bodied white wine. Still, it has a lasting finish to satisfy even the pickiest drinkers!
This rich white wine from Saarburger Rausch is a testament to the season. It has an earthen and steel edge that makes it distinctly richer than its predecessors, but it does not lose any of the complexity for which this vineyard is famous for.
7. Künstler Hochheimer Kirchenstück Im Stein Riesling Trocken 2019
For those who love white wines, the Hochheimer Kirchenstück Im Stein is a must-try white wine for beginners. This wine's aroma of pineapple, lemons and ripe peaches will make your mouth water before you even take a sip.
The winery knows how to bring out the unique terroir in this location, which can be tasted on its clean finish, leaving only hints of citrus behind with every gulp!
This bottle of delicious white wine is made up of robust characteristics and aromas, but it also has a subtle floral bouquet that goes down smoothly. The acidity indicates the perfect bottle aging process for this elegant Riesling, giving beginners juiciness in their mouths.
8. King Estate Viognier 2016
The grapes thrive in Oregon’s southern Rogue Valley at higher elevations because it has a cooler climate that produces more complex and elegant flavors. These three vineyards produce exemplary wines: Fortmiller, Lakeside, and Folin.
This 2016 vintage was a success because of the careful blending and aging that allowed for 28% in barrel fermentation while 72% fermented on steel. The five months it rested sur lie gave this white wine its youthful, smooth taste we've all come to know from years past!
Viognier is a delicately sensual white wine that's sure to please the senses. The nose is aromatic with peach, wildflower, and honey notes, while on the palate, it offers sweet oak, black olive, and nutmeg.
It has an elegant golden straw color when put in a stemless wine glass which contrasts beautifully against its rich yet subtle taste. Viognier might be best enjoyed at dusk as it reminds us of warm summer days.
9. Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio 2020
You'll never find a white wine like this Pinot Grigio. Its flavor profile and compositions make a great white wine for beginners. The straw-yellow color is pleasing to the eye, and its clean, intense aroma will make beginners want more!
One sip of its bone dry taste leaves your mouth craving for another glass. If left in contact with oxygen after opening, the flavor can intensify even further.
It goes well with seafood salads or pasta dishes based on fish and shellfish - perfect as an appetizer before dinner time. If white meats are what you're looking for, then Santa Margherita has got just what you need.
10. Jermann Pinot Grigio 2019
The Jermann Pinot Gris/Grigio 2019 is a white wine that will satisfy your senses. The aroma of this white wine has the scent of Alpine herbs, white spring flowers, and ripe orchard fruit. This tangy and rounded palate gives out intense flavors with finesse as it offers up yellow pears, white peaches, and even hints at green melons all in one savory drink.
It also has fresh acidity to balance everything out together for a flavor-packed experience so that beginners won't forget its taste. It has an excellent aroma of fruit, as well as great persistence in the nose and mouth, superior to most wines.
Dry on taste but velvety for its full body, Pinot Grigio pairs best with fish soups or chargrilled seafood dishes such as clam chowder. This light-bodied wine with complex flavor makes it popular among chefs who cook closely with field mushrooms and porcini mushrooms.
11. Aperture Chenin Blanc 2020
This white wine is crafted for seafood, and it's not just your typical white wine. It's made with love by winemaker Jesse Katz himself to pair at his favorite restaurant back in the day. This blend of baked apple and pear upfront will take beginners on a journey that any food connoisseur would be proud of.
That's why it's a fantastic white wine for beginners. It's a medium-bodied to full-bodied white wine with bright acidity and a flavorful palate. Furthermore, it comprises fruit and spices such as cardamom, chamomile, and dried lemon, giving way to some toasty notes too!
A perfectly balanced dry yet creamy-textured experience awaits those who dare try it out paired or solo.
12. Mulderbosch Chenin Blanc 2019
This Chenin Blanc wine is bright and crisp with citrus rind flavors, ripe apricots, and a subtle hint of oak spice. It's evenly blended from two fermentation methods - 25% fermented in 300L French Oak barrels and 1500L Foudres, 75% fermented in stainless steel tanks.
The Chenin Blanc grapes were given six months to sit idle on the lees before bottling preparations. The flavor and aroma are so widespread that it’s impossible not to find something to enjoy about this bottle.
There is citrus, the taste of tannins, and the creamy lees add an extra layer of complexity that will leave beginners wanting more! It starts at an affordable price, but this cheap wine could pass off as top-tier.
13. Tatomer Paragon Vineyard Gruner Veltliner 2018
One of the best vineyards in California is Paragon, just south of San Luis Obispo. The soils there are made up of a unique combination of marl and quartz with limestone underneath them all. This is responsible for creating fantastic white wines like this Gruner Veltliner.
This white wine has an interesting mix between Grüner Veltliner's exotic tea-like flavors as well as tart apple and peach notes to create something new for any palate!
It also offers tangerine peel, dried lime, kelp aroma hints on your nose while still being extremely dry but floral, offering plumeria flavor, jasmine tea, or Mandarin zest surprises at every turn!
14. Stadt Krems Grüner Veltliner Kremstal 2019
The rustic village of Krems is located on the gentle hills in an area known for its warm Pannonian climate. This helps produce high-quality grapes such as Grüner Veltliner, which thrive here due to the perfect environment and ideal breeding ground that make up this region's unique terroir.
To counterbalance these warmer climes, cooler air flowing through from forests northward provides a balance with spicier hints within wines. It adds some complexity thanks to this interplay between grape varieties and their surroundings, including how well they grow based on whether it includes gravel or crystalline beneath them throughout production seasons.
Beneath the sweet and tart scents of pear on one end and lemon on another, there is something slightly more intense. A high note on the palate comes from that yeasty creaminess, and its peppery body makes for an interesting segue to finish off this delicious wine.
15. Zenato Lugana San Benedetto 2018
The perfect white to serve at a summertime barbecue, the San Benedetto Lugana is made from 100% Trebbiano di Lugana harvested on the south shore of Lake Garda.
This white wine boasts a pale green color with hints of peaches, herbs, and bananas. It also offers appealing taste sensations that are underscored by acidity and a supple body.
This is a delicious accompaniment for light appetizers or even vegetarian dishes like pasta primavera. Your guests will enjoy drinking chilled glasses filled with Italian authenticity!
16. William Fèvre Chablis Champs Royaux 2018
The William Fevre Chablis Champs Royaux 2018 is a wonderfully crisp and fresh wine. There are layers of complexity, from the citrus fruits to green apple flavors in its nose. All are met with an elegant minerality on the palate where beginners can taste fruitiness typical for this appellation or French wine classification .
It also hints at flowers because it is so young and has some depth, thanks to chalk trailing through its flavor profile. This Chardonnay is the perfect accompaniment for any time!
This white wine will go great with any meal that contains shellfish, fresh fish, or sushi. It also has a delicious taste when paired with food like chicken marinated in herbs like thyme and tarragon!
17. Domaine Drouhin Vaudon Chablis 2019
Domaine Drouhin Vaudon Chablis is a dry and fruity wine that is brilliant and refreshing. This Chardonnay displays a gold color with greenish accents. The fragrance of the Drouhin Vaudon Chablis is crisp and refreshing too.
It contains a complex mix of lemon, grapefruit, ferns, and coriander leaves that combine to create a very fragrant wine. The flavor of Chardonnay has an initial dryness that gradually fades away as you enjoy this delicious and clear white wine on your palate while enjoying its fruit flavors combined with mineral notes.
Pair this wine with pasta dishes such as linguine mixed with clams to heighten your drinking experience.
18. Casa do Valle Vinho Verde Branco Grande Escolha 2019
This popular white wine is made from a carefully selected set of grapes, which creates an off-dry straw color. The bouquet hints at the melon and tropical flavors found in this summertime favorite while maintaining plenty of minerality that carries through on the palate with its refreshing sweetness.
This wine has a great palate with complex mineral notes. It is round and fresh on the finish adding to its appeal as it invigorates your senses. It also makes for perfect company at an informal get-together or formal dinner in Indian cuisine or seafood dishes alike!
Whether you're looking for something light or robust enough to pair well with dinner, Casa do Valle's Vinho Verde will be your new best friend!
19. Royal Tokaji The Oddity Furmint 2018
With Royal Tokaji The Oddity Furmint, you are in for one delicious wine. It has the aromas of grape flowers and apple mixed with flavors from ripe apricot and peach to produce a dry but refreshing taste that lasts long after the first sip.
With its silky texture, it is perfect as an appetizer or light meal drink when paired correctly, like seafood or white meats. Moreover, this versatile concoction also partners well with fried foods if you're looking to spice things up!
This fresh, crisp wine shows all the fine qualities of the unique Furmint grape. The aromas combine beautifully with tastes such as those found within juicy peaches and wet apples, which create a luxurious feel before being sipped by any thirsty guest.
20. Oremus Tokaji Dry Furmint Mandolas 2018
The Furmint is an original grape with a light, fresh attack with hints of lime and stone minerality. The wine's limpid in its purity as it reflects the Hungarian countryside where grapes are grown.
Mandolas is one of the most prestigious vineyards in Hungary and is used exclusively for planting Furmint grapes, known to be the most famous in the region. Every week leading up to harvest, the harvest is carefully checked for ripeness, and bunches that have reached perfection are selected. It needs to be ripe, healthy, and golden yellow.
The must is delicately pressed with a gentle touch before fermentation begins. This process lasts between 8 - 12 days in new wood barrels, which undergo careful preparation beforehand not to dull the delicate taste of Mandolas wine. The wine would then be aged in small wine barrels with 136 liters capacity.
Conclusion
When it comes to white wine, there are many types and flavors for beginners to explore. You can start with a simple or light dry white wine that is familiar, like Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc, or cheap white wines.
Then you can go up in price range and try different dry white wines as your palate starts desiring different tastes. Maybe even try some French wines if you’re feeling adventurous!