Many of us know this all too well, we walk into a restaurant and order a bottle of wine based on the price and pretend to know that it’s a good one. But be careful not to slip up and find yourself with egg on your face. So because you love a good glass of wine (when someone knowledgeable orders it) it wouldn’t hurt to entertain your dinner guests with interesting conversation points.

Let’s kick off with a few white wines:

Sauvignon Blanc

• With its affordable price, it’s no wonder this is one of South Africa’s top selling white wines.
• Very responsive to where it is planted the Sauv B produces flavours ranging from ripe tropical fruits to green herbaceous notes of asparagus and green pepper.
• A wine that loves tomato-based dishes, also gives meaning to the term ‘cheese and wine’ as it works well with lemon and goat’s milk cheeses.

Chardonnay

• For those who are familiar with this blend, you would know it to be overtly wooded and creamy.
• It is also incredibly diverse and is the world’s most planted white grape.
• It is used to produce beautiful Champagne and Methode Cap Classique (MCC).
• Unoaked you will find refreshing flavours of apple blossom, lemon, pear and pineapple.
• When fully oaked it can be quite a rich wine, but that only means that it would go so well with creamy dishes.
• Blanc de Blanc is made purely from Chardonnay and is the best kind for toasting at weddings.

Chenin Blanc

• Affectionately known as the ‘darling of the vineyard’, Ms Chenin is an easy grape to care for and produces fantastic wines at every price point.
• If you’re natural Sauv B drinker but want to test the waters, you won’t go wrong with Chenin, she is most likely to impress you more than any other white wine.
• Unwooded her flavour profile tends to be of peaches, nectarines and passion fruit.
• If you prefer your Chenin wooded, you can expect to find flavours of buttered popcorn and nutmeg similar to what you would find in a wooded Chardonnay.

Cape Riesling

• If you love curries and spicy dishes then be sure to make this aromatic wine your best friend.
• Traditionally, most Rieslings are made to be a little sweet, which is why they calm down hot curry.
• Its primary flavours include sweet apple, nectarine, peaches and jasmine.

Muscadel

• Often drunk as a sweet wine in place of/or with dessert, Muscadel’s sweetness is its signature element.
• Muscadel works great in the summertime over some ice or in cocktails.

Text and image: wine.co.za