What is Dry White Wine?

Basically it’s a wine which isn’t sweet, aka it has no residual sugar. If you’re not familiar with how wine is made basically it involves sugar in the grape juice, fermentation and yeast. If a winemaker stops fermentation before the yeast has time to munch on all the sugar, then there’s residual sugar in the wine.

Obviously if the winemaker lets the yeast complete its mission then the result is a dry wine. Sometimes there may be a small amount of residual sugar left in dry white wines, however it’s fairly minimal that it doesn’t make the wine taste sweet.

I have mentioned a few above, and also please note winemakers do get creative every now and then. So what you might think is dry, might not be – if this is the case however, they will usually state it on the bottle.

Typically you’ll find wines made from these grapes dry:

1. Sauvignon Blanc
2. Albarino
3. Chardonnay
4. Melon de Bourgogne (this produces Muscadet in the Loire Valley)
5. Pinot Gris / Pinot Grigio
6. Assyrtiko
7. Riesling (however there is also a lot of sweet ones, see more below in the ‘myth-busting’ section)
8. Viognier
9. Grüner Veltliner
10. Semillon
11. Chenin Blanc
12. Turbiana
13. Torrontes
14. Viura (also called Macabeo)
15. Colombard
16. Verdicchio
17. Picpoul de Pinet
18. Verdejo
19. Pinot Blanc
20. Vermentino

If you come across wines made from the above grapes and you see terms like ‘late-harvest’, ‘dessert’, ‘fortified’, ‘off-dry’ for example or ‘sec’, ‘demi-sec’ or ‘doux’ on a bottle of champagne/bubbles then you probably have a sweetie in front of you!

Not necessarily my fellow wine lovers. The reason I love Chardonnay so much is because it’s so versatile. It can create fab sparkling wines (if you didn’t know, it’s one of the prominent grape varieties used in champagne), gorgeous dry still wines and I have had the odd dessert wine made from Chardonnay. The latter isn’t hugely popular, but they are out there.

Typically for a still dry chardonnay you’ll find it in two forms – oaked and unoaked. The former being more oaky (obviously) and full-bodied while unoaked versions are very fruity and easy-drinking for most people. You’ll tend to find the ABC drinkers (Anything But Chardonnay) will like unoaked Chardonnays as they tend to think all Chardonnay’s are big, oaky, buttery and nutty. Give each wine a chance people!

Yes! It’s possibly one of the driest white wines out there alongside Albarino which we covered on the blog only a few weeks ago. Sauvy B is super crisp and refreshing. It’s typically a cool climate wine which is also a factor to helps to determine dryness in a vino. I.e. the warmer the region, the more the region will thrive at making sweeter style wines. Like for instance, right here in the Swan Valley, they’re well-known for their awesome fortified (port style) wines.

I think what makes Sauvignon Blanc really dominate in the dry white wine world is because of it being the ‘green juice’ of the wine world. By this I mean, it’s typically described with ‘green’ notes from cut grass to fresh herbs, gooseberries and also passionfruit, grapefruit, peach and sometimes even jalapeño!

See above! Basically a ‘crisp’ wine refers to its refreshing nature which is thanks to the acidity in the wine. A crisp wine leaves the mouth feeling refreshed, cleansed and may be even slightly sour. They’re not heavy or extremely fruity wines. Go for a Sauv Blanc, Pinot Grigio, dry Riesling or even a Greek Assyrtiko.

This is a very commonly asked question and to be honest I would always lean on a Sauvignon Blanc to help me out in the kitchen. By the way, these Sauvignon Blanc cupcakes are insanely good and easy to make!

If you don’t have any SB on hand then a Classic Dry White, Pinot Grigio or an Unoaked Chardy are typically easy to find and will do the trick. I actually find Albarino very good when I am making chilli mussels!

Tip: Don’t add wine to a dish when cooking that you wouldn’t drink yourself! Putting crappy wine in a dish is a definite no-no, how can a shitty wine improve your dish? It can’t!

Typically wherever wine is sold you can buy drink white wine. Simply ask the sales staff to help you out if you are struggling and don’t forget to consult the back label of the wine too. For example, many Rieslings have a dry to sweet scale on the back which makes life super easy.

Here are some wine shops to try (please note some of these links are affiliate links, which means at no cost to you, I may get a small amount of commission if you click through and make a purchase):