Light-Bodied Whites
Vintage image sourced on Pinterest
Summer reading list season means that it’s also light-bodied white wine season, because honestly, what’s better than the simplicity of a great summer sipper?
These light-bodied white wines are, as you’d expect, refreshingly zesty with flavors that tend toward citrus in all of its varied forms. Almost like squeezing said citrus onto your tacos or watermelon for that zingy kick. What they’re not, though, are the usual Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling that you might expect in this tasting.
Why not? Because I think it’s more interesting to host a tasting focused on the lesser-known light-bodied whites. And because it’s usually true that lesser-known styles are more affordable than their more famous counterparts, even at similar quality levels. And if one thing is true this summer, it’s that pretty much all of us could use a good deal.
Stuff to know
Body is such a weird word for describing a liquid. I don’t think I’ll ever really get over the strangeness of using a word that feels invariably corporeal for liquids. Even liquids as varied and complex as wine. But here we are anyway, so the references I find most helpful when discussing wine’s body are milk and beer. In milk’s case, skim is the light-body equivalent, while whole milk is full bodied va-va-voom. As for beer, an IPA would have a light body, while a stout or porter is full-bodied, with plenty of medium-bodied options in between.
Things that contribute to the body of a wine include the amount of sugar in the grapes, since more sugar results in more alcohol and CO2 during fermentation, and alcohol makes a wine feel heavier on the palate. The reverse is also true, such that less sugar in the grapes at harvest time results in lower alcohol levels in the wine, which makes the wine feel lighter…AKA light-bodied.
The amount of sugar grapes have at harvest time is partially related to the type of grape and partially related to the climate and vintage. Some grapes, like Piquepoul, retain their acidity and avoid accumulating too much sugar even in the toasty coastal Languedoc in southern France. Others, like Chardonnay, are far more malleable, varying widely in their sugar and acidity levels depending on where they’re grown.
Beyond the grapes and their climate, there are things that winemakers can do that add body or keep things lean. Aging a wine in oak barrels adds weight, especially if the oak is heavily toasted. Vessels like clay amphora and concrete can add texture, too, which also adds some weight. Lees, which sound kind of gross, since they’re comprised of dead yeast cells and grape skin particles, are often used as a tool in white winemaking to add texture and creaminess…which adds weight, too. Even fermentation temperatures impact the flavors and weight of a wine. Cool temperatures keep things light-bodied and fruity, while warmer temperatures allow for more savory flavors and weight.
The wines in this tasting are most often - but not always! - fermented at cool temperatures in stainless steel vessels, keeping things light.
What to look for in this tasting
Most light-bodied whites have a green or citrus-y vein that keeps them feeling fresh, just like lemonade or limeade. Which citrus flavor it is, and whether it tastes most like the zest, pith or juice varies widely though. In general, acidity levels are high, making these wines feel particularly thirst-quenching, ideal for hot summer days. Beyond the citrus vibes, other flavors make appearances in certain wines, too, including everything from green apples and melon to passion fruit to raw almonds, honeycomb and fennel.
The wines
#1: Vinho Verde
Vinho Verde (”veen-oh vehr-day”), which translates to “green wine,” sits in the northwestern-most corner of Portugal, a region where Atlantic rain, winds and moderating influences dominate the climate. This is a land of water, with the ocean to the west, the River Minho to the north serving as the border with Spain, the River Douro and the city of Porto in its south and a whole network of river valleys in between.
Technically, there are white, red and rosé Vinho Verde wines, but for this tasting, we’re focusing on just the white ones. The ones that are most widely available anyway. Most Vinho Verde wines are comprised of not one, but several different grape varieties, with Loureiro and Alvarinho as the top two, while others like Pedernã, Avesso and Trajadura often in the mix, too. These are young wines, hence the “green,” usually enjoyed just months after the harvest. They’re meant to be refreshing, with low alcohol levels and a distinctively subtle fizz from adding CO2 that you can hear when you open the bottle, often with a screw cap, though sometimes with a cork. These wines tend to be light, fresh and softly fruity, with delicate flavors of lime, pear, peach and honeydew melon.
There is a second style of Vinho Verde that’s been emerging in recent years. Wines that feature Loureiro or Alvarinho prominently on the label tend to be riper, with more concentrated flavors, higher alcohol levels and less, or even no added fizz. Loureiro-based Vinho Verde wines tend to be more citrus-forward, with flavors of lime, green apple and jasmine, sometimes with honey or pineapple flavors. Alvarinho is the same grape variety as Albariño across the border in Spain’s Rías Baixas, and these wines tend to have flavors of grapefruit, lemon, peach, passion fruit and orange blossom, with the occasional honey or nutty flavors.
What to ask for: Ask by name
Alternative(s): Stick with a Vinho Verde, with or without a grape variety like Loureiro or Alvarinho on the label
#2: Rueda
Rueda (”roo-ay-dah”) isn’t located where you’d guess a white wine region would be. It’s smack-dab in the middle of Spain, northwest of Madrid and southwest of Valladolid. The Duero river is this region’s key feature, cutting across the Meseta Central, Spain’s high elevation inner plateau. It might not feel like it when you’re there, looking across what seems to be mostly flat or undulating land, but the vineyards lie at 2,300-2,600 feet (700-800m) altitude, creating almost desert-like conditions, where the summer days are hot and dry but cool nights keep the grapes from ripening too soon and losing their acidity.
Verdejo (”vehr-day-ho”) is the name of the region’s signature grape, sometimes bottled solo and sometimes blended with Sauvignon Blanc, though a few other white grapes are also allowed. Wines labeled DO Rueda are usually blends.
Most Rueda wines are light-bodied and refreshingly zippy, the kind of wine I always craved when eating tacos in Texas. Some producers use lees stirring and aging or the occasional oak aging to add body, texture and complexity to the wines, with creamy, smoky or toasty aromas and flavors. If you’re into Sancerre or Sauvignon Blanc, these wines will be right up your alley, and will usually cost less, too.
Expect to find aromas and flavors of white grapefruit, lime, white peach, honeydew melon and almonds with herbal-y dill and fennel in the mix. These wines might smell fruity, but they’re refreshingly dry and lively on the palate, hitting your tongue with a jolt of acid that awakens every taste bud.
What to ask for: Ask by style name
Alternative(s): Rueda Verdejo (comprised of at least 85% Verdejo) or Rueda Sauvignon Blanc (comprised of at least 85% Sauvignon Blanc)
What to ask for: Ask by name
#3: Verdicchio
Verdicchio (”vehr-dee-kee-oh”) makes an appearance in many Soave wines, where it goes by Trebbiano di Soave, but it shines solo in the Marche, as well as other parts of the Veneto and Lombardy. Its best-known rendition is as Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi, a mouthful of a name, which holds DOCG status, though Verdicchio di Matelica, also a DOCG in the Marche, is just as delicious and often fuller-bodied.
Verdicchio gets its name from the grapes’ color, “verde,” or green grapes. It’s an apropos name beyond the grape color though, since many of the wines offer a bitter green almond flavor that also veers toward sweet almond or marzipan in riper versions.
Verdicchio is incredibly versatile, and is used to make both simple and age-worthy still wines as well as sparkling ones. It’s one of the Italian whites that can handle some oak, even small amounts of new oak on occasion. Most Verdicchios are made in stainless steel or concrete vessels though, aiming for freshness over the vanilla-y roundness oak aging imparts. Lees stirring is common, adding some creaminess texturally.
Beyond the almond, aromas and flavors of lemon, white flowers and peaches are common, while aged Verdicchio often has a smoky, flinty characteristic, much like Pouilly-Fumé. Perhaps this is why Verdicchio proposed as an Italian alternative to Sauvignon Blanc.
What to ask for: Ask by style name
Alternative(s): Stick with a Verdicchio-based wine, preferably from the Marche, where Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi and Verdicchio di Matelica are made, or a Verdicchio from Lombardy, or a 100% Trebbiano di Soave
#4: Aligoté
When I lived in Burgundy, France pre-Covid, Aligoté (“ah-lee-goh-tay”) was just beginning its recent rise in reputation. For most of its lengthy existence in the region, Aligoté has been treated like a second-class citizen, relegated to being used in cocktails like the famous Kir, a blend of crème de cassis (a blackcurrant liqueur) and Aligoté wine. I even had classmates who proclaimed that was all Aligoté was good for: being used as a blending wine in cocktails.
Luckily, there are producers who have recognized Aligoté’s potential, particularly when planted in better sites, the ones that have always been reserved for the region’s famed Chardonnay grapes. Bouzeron in particular has become a hotbed for quality Aligoté. Some top Burgundy producers have begun adding Aligoté wines to their offerings, further increasing the wines’ reputation.
Aligotés tend to have racy acidity and a lean body, qualities that once bordered on the wrong side of under-ripe, therefore making the wines good candidates for blending with sweet blackcurrant liqueur, softening those harsh edges. These days though, winemakers know how to coax ripeness out of the grapes, resulting in wines that still have racy acidity and light bodies, but in an enjoyably refreshing way, rather than face puckeringly tart. Aligoté wines tend to have flavors of green apple, white peach, lemon and acacia flowers, sometimes with a minerality that tastes like saline or wet stones. A few producers age their wines in oak barrels, adding some roundness and body, but it’s not common.
What to ask for: Ask by name
Alternative(s): Stick with an Aligoté, preferably from Bouzeron
#5: Picpoul de Pinet
Every time I’ve studied Picpoul de Pinet (”peek-pool deh pee-nay”) for a wine exam, I’ve had to go back and check the spelling, because in this appellation, the grape is spelled “Piquepoul” and the place is spelled “Picpoul.” Because of course. As if French appellations weren’t complicated enough for foreigners as it is. That said, if you ask for a Picpoul wine, skipping the “de Pinet,” your local retailer will still know what you’re talking about.
West of Montpellier, along France’s southern coast, there’s a little village called Pinet that’s surrounded by vineyards. Pinet also overlooks the Bassin de Thau, a coastal saltwater lagoon where oysters and mussels are farmed, forming the basis of how most visitors are first introduced to the wines: as the must-have pairing with oysters. In France, the Loire Valley’s Muscadet and Picpoul de Pinet are often the go-to oyster wines.
Even if you’re not a fan of mollusks, you can still channel the Mediterranean coast in your own backyard while sipping Picpoul de Pinets full of flavors of citrus, green apple, melon, white flowers, saline and wet stones.
What to ask for: Picpoul de Pinet
Alternative(s): Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, Muscadet, Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire, Muscadet Côtes de Grandlieu, preferably with “sur lie” on the bottle (unless a cru communaux is added to the appellation name, such as Clisson, Gorges or Le Pallet)
#6: Assyrtiko
Greek wines like Assyrtiko struggled on the export market for a long time, partially thanks to wine labels with Greek characters and grapes no one had heard of, and partially thanks to tourists’ perceptions that all Greek wines tasted like retsina, a wine made with a bit of pine resin, nodding to its historical use sealing clay amphorae. There are good quality retsinas, but there were also plenty served to tourists around Athens that more closely resembled drinking Pine-Sol.
Those perceptions have changed drastically over the years as the world has re-discovered the excellent quality and range of Greek wines. These days Assyrtiko wines are sold worldwide, and are especially common in Mediterranean-focused restaurants. It helps that Assyrtikos are most famous for their origins on Santorini, one of the top destinations in Greece for modern tourists. Santorini lies atop a volcano whose collapse created a submerged crater, a caldera, whose eastern edge formed what we know as Santorini today. In addition to its nearly infertile volcanic soils, Santorini is wind swept to the point of risking vine breakage, so the vines are trained low to the ground in round wreath-like shapes called kouloura. Weaving the vines into their kouloura shape and carefully managing their growth is a specialized practice, a labor-intensive effort maintained by the few producers on the island keeping traditions and what are often very old vines alive.
Most Assyrtiko wines from Santorini and other Greek wine regions are dry, but the grape’s consistently high acidity lends itself well to sweet wines, too, so both styles are produced. The dry Assyrtiko wines can have surprisingly high alcohol levels, though I haven’t experienced any that taste unbalanced, and they tend to have flavors of lime zest, grapefruit, peach, and passion fruit and minerality that comes through as saline, flint or smoke. Some wines will also have a toasty, honeyed or beeswax-like quality. Some producers partially age their Assyrtiko wines in oak, adding weight and roundness, while others use lees stirring to add creaminess and texture, which can also further emphasize the wines’ smoky, flinty qualities.
What to ask for: Ask for a dry Assyrtiko (since sweet wines are also produced)
Alternative(s): Stick with an Assyrtiko wine from anywhere in Greece
Tasting tips
The eats
For this tasting, the best way to think about the wines is as if they’re citrus fruit that’s about to be squeezed all over the food you’re eating. Think lime juice on tacos or watermelon, lemons squeezed onto salads or pasta. You could choose to lean into the light, citrus-y vibes with complementary flavors, dishing up mixed citrus salads, lime-soaked guacamole and lemon-drenched oysters and grilled fish, or you can treat the wines as though they were the citrus itself, with contrastingly creamy, rich and fried foods like fried chicken, french fries or mac & cheese. It’s hard to go wrong here. I have some friends who even prefer zesty light-bodied white wines with their steaks, treating the wines like a palate cleanser between bites, instead of going with the more traditional full-bodied reds.
Charcuterie-wise, things are similarly flexible. Anything from Brie to chèvre to Feta, Comté and Swiss will suit, and you can have some fun picking out the meats too, with options like Speck, salami, smoked ham, Prosciutto and Mortadella. Round things out with fruits like strawberries, raspberries, pineapples, Granny Smith apple slices and dried apricots, and add in the salty bits with olives, pickles and nuts. And of course, the crackers, crostinis and breads galore.
The prep
Most of these styles of light-bodied whites are under-valued and appreciated, so they should be highly affordable, weeknight-style finds. Some of the wines will be easy to find, others might take some time, depending on where you live. It’s worth giving your guests at least 2 weeks to find their wines for this tasting.
Encourage your guests to give their wines some pre-tasting fridge time, since this is a tasting where it’s best if the wines are chilled. Lightly chilled is generally the goal here, so if the wines didn’t get their fridge time before arrival, just keep the ice bucket dunk time brief, since it’s hard to taste much of anything when the wines are fully ice cold.
A note on the tasting order: The wines are listed in the order of which should be included first. This is so that if you have fewer than 6 wines/guests, you’ll still have a well-rounded experience. However, the order in which you taste the wines, regardless of how many wines are included, is recommended as follows:
Vinho Verde
Picpoul de Pinet
Aligoté
Verdicchio
Rueda
Assyrtiko
