If you are looking for some white wines for the Lunar New Year celebration, this might be of help to you when you want something other than Chardonnay.
Viognier
Main characteristics: full-bodied, apricot, perfumed, heady
A distinctive variety that has now travelled from its home in Condrieu, northern Rhone, France, to virtually all corners of the wine world. Many would describe this grape as being reminiscent of apricots, May blossom, honeysuckle, ripe peaches, musk. Unless fully ripe its distinctively seductive aroma does not develop, which means that most memorable examples are relatively alcoholic; the trick is to keep the acidity too. Best drunk young.
Food pairing: It goes well with Asian cuisine, seafood, shellfish, pork, veal, roasted/grilled chicken, dishes with spices, sweet root vegetables.
Chenin Blanc
Main characteristics: extremely versatile, honey and damp straw
Chenin Blanc is the grape of the middle Loire. In the New World of wine, it is known as Steen in South Africa and is the most widely planted grape variety. Much misunderstood, it makes very ordinary off-dry wine in both California and South Africa where it is widely planted, but in the Loire Valley it can make very nervy, age-worthy, characterful wines of all stages of sweetness and full of floral. It makes lightly honeyed, dry still wines and some characterful sparkling Saumur and Vouvray.
Food pairing: Grilled seafood, roast turkey, Asian dishes with spices like chillies, pork dishes, grilled seafood, cheese.
Pinot Gris
Main characteristics: Full, golden, smoky, pungent
This increasingly fashionable grape has its power base in Alsace where, with Riesling, Gewurztraminer, and Muscat, it is regarded as a noble grape variety, responsible for some of the region’s most powerful, if quite soft, wines. This pink-skinned mutation of Pinot Noir is a cousin of Chardonnay. While majority of this varietal gives a dry aftertaste, a small amount of prized Alsatian pinot gris that is affeted by botrytis (or widely-known as the “Noble Rot”) produce sweet wines.
Pinot Blanc
Main characteristics: Light, lively, Chardonnay-like
Lighter-skinned mutation of Pinot Noir which has often been confused with its cousin Chardonnay in the vineyard, especially in Italy where is it called Pinot Bianco. it is the everyday, inoffensive grape of Alsace, related to Auxerrois and sometimes called Clevner. it can make substantial wines, including wonderfully rich Trockenbeerenauslesen, in Austria as Weissburgunder. it is also popular in southern Germany for its full body. The grape is relatively low in acidity and flavour compounds so Pinot Blanc is generally drunk young. There is a spectrum between refreshingly apple flavors, lightly mineral to the floury and creamy.
