White Wine and Spring Go Together Like BBQ and the Fourth of July

It’s disturbing, but there are indeed people in the world who don’t drink white wine. I’ve known some myself and, when the subject comes up, I find myself overwhelmed by a sense of incurable emptiness and loss. I let these people know that one of my pet peeves is people who only drink red wine. I know, “drink and let drink” should be my motto, but I just find it astonishing that there are some who can refuse a cool glass of white wine, especially when the weather waxes sunny and bright, and flower blossoms send their perfume wafting in little clouds of warm air and on the wings of buzzing bees and butterflies. OK, maybe I’m getting a bit carried away with the spring thing, but whites and spring go together like barbecue and the Fourth of July. Show me a red wine that smells like flowers (other than violets) and I’ll show you a glass I don’t want to drink. However, show me a floral white wine, redolent of blooming honeysuckle and iris, and I’ll beg you for a second glass. At the dawn of the brighter months, our appetites stop asking for rich winter stews, beef braises and root vegetables. Instead we start hungering for fresh greens from the garden, simply prepared fish and seafood. The scent of charcoal fires becomes noticeable throughout the neighborhood, and we reach for the olive oil rather than for butter when we sauté. These foods and moods ask for wines with crispness, acidity and freshness – the calling cards of great white wines. We look for textures that glance off the tongue rather than batter it with tannins, for aromas that awaken our nostrils rather than lull them. And the good news about white wine is that there are more varieties available today than ever before. Remember those days when it just seemed to be Chardonnay after relentless Chardonnay with seemingly no change in sight? Well, though Chardonnay is still the dominant grape, there are loads of alternatives that offer different flavors and textures and that accompany different foods. Of course the biggest challenger is Sauvignon Blanc. Spurred on by the incredible success of the New Zealand wine industry, this is a grape that can take many forms. By itself in that much-emulated kiwi style, Sauvignon Blanc is pungent and sharp with aromas that vacillate between grassy, peppery and fruity (citrus, gooseberry). When underripe, it tends to smell unpleasantly of canned asparagus, but when ripe it can be glorious and gloriously complex. Medium-bodied in the mouth, the wine beautifully accompanies fish, shrimp, oysters and all manner of salads and vegetables. It’s one of my favorites, but don’t just look to New Zealand. Wonderful Sauvignon comes from Australia (try some of the blends with Sémillon from the Margaret River), California (fruitier, more tropical), South Africa (strong and structured) and, of course, France, where Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé are often incredible doses of tart fruit and mineral. Buy a case of something you like, and drink it cold all summer long. For an exciting grape that behaves somewhat like Sauvignon Blanc, but tends to be a little fleshier and softer, try Verdejo, whose ideal expression, to my palate, hails from Spain and the region of Rueda. I’ve been in love with these expressive and thirst-quenching whites for the last couple of years. The only problem with them that I can find is that there aren’t enough. Another Spanish white that has become fashionable of late is the grape Albariño, which comes from the west coast of the country in an area called the Rias Baixas. Taught, citrusy and chock-full of stony, mineral character, a great Albariño will be light-bodied and crisp, a lighter, tighter Sauvignon Blanc. There are few better wines with bivalves of any sort, as well as shrimp and fish. Of course, one grape that has skyrocketed in recognition in the last few years is Grüner Veltliner, Austria’s contribution to the world of food-friendly whites. Grüner’s claim to fame is its uncanny ability to pair with foods other wines avoid, like Dick Cheney avoids open discussion. I’m talking things like Brussels sprouts, asparagus, artichokes and the like. No wine goes with these things but Grüner. On a textbook version of the wine, you can detect aromas like lentil beans and spicy pepper. In the mouth, its fruit is lean and shot through with acidity, but it goes down cleanly and with a light touch. A great wine as an aperitif, as well as with food. And I run out of space before getting to elegant Italian Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc, which also come in fine form from Alsace and Oregon. And I didn’t even get into Riesling, the greatest white wine grape in the world, worthy of a column all to itself. Off-dry German Riesling with spicy Asian food is one of life’s greatest pleasures. But truly the greatest pleasure is the diversity of wine in and of itself, red and white. Don’t cut yourself off from the thrills of spring and summer, the buzzing of bees and opening of flowers by ignoring white wines. The white time is the right time, you see, and that time is now.