Aromatic Vs. Neutral White Wine | Pair White Wines & Food Better

Hello bonjour and welcome to your new Bon Appetit wines video. As our video series here develops, we're gradually going to go a little deeper into some of the differences and the variety that the world of wine has to offer. So you become step by step more and more knowledgeable, you get to better understanding of what you're buying, and eventually you buy better, always better wine. So today we're going to look into a distinction that us wine professionals often consider when it comes to selecting a wine for an event, for a meal, or whatever really, and that's whether or not the bottle of wine that you're considering is what we call an aromatic white, or whether it's more on the neutral side of things. But don't worry, I will certainly explain. But first, let's talk about why we're looking at white wines here more specifically rather than the reds. Let's go! My fellow wine loving friends, Julien here. Before we get started with the video there is something that you have to know about. This video was made possible by the Bonner Private Wine Partnership and the reason I work with them is not just because it's been called the most unique wine club in America, but because they truly love the wines that they choose for you. Founded by Will Bonner, the partnership is a small group of wine lovers who have come together to import excellent small batch wines that might otherwise get completely overlooked by large importers. They get them. Right now you can get your hands on three rare extreme altitude red wines from Argentina, from some of the purest highest vineyards in the entire world, way up in the Andes mountains. No middlemen, no additive packed supermarket wines here, no inflated costs. Plus, you'll get exclusive access to more wine education videos for me, just like the one you're about to watch, to make sure you become an educated wine connoisseur. So make sure to check out the link in the video description to see if you want to become partner in something truly special in the world of wine. But for now, back to your video... One of the things that we talked about when we discussed the three colors of wine, as you might remember in a previous video, is that the major difference between red and white wines, beyond the fact that they made from red or white grapes respectively, is that red wines are fermented with the grape skins inside the fermenting tanks, while white wines are pressed first and only the juice with virtually no solids in it is fermented. Can you sort of grasp the difference? It might be a little hard to imagine but that's essentially the major difference. In grapes, unlike other fruits, the skin is where most of the flavors and aromas are. The rest of the fruit that we call the pulp, what's inside the grape, is quite neutral aromatically. What this does is that pretty much all red wines, because they're fermented for several days if not weeks with the skins inside the fermenting tank in contact with the juice, all reds are quite flavorsome, loads of aromas in them. You can easily tell the difference by thinking at a red wine versus a light rosé. All light rosés are rather flavorless, at least relative to any red wine, right? And that's because the rosé wasn't fermented on the grape skins. Same with white wines. Because the grapes are pressed and separated from the skins early on during the winemaking process, there is a greater variety of flavor and aroma intensity between different types of white grapes. Only some very specific grapes that we call aromatic grapes give very aromatic white wines. All of the others are going to be more neutral. That's the distinction that we make. So let's have a look into both of these categories. Aromatic grapes are grapes that are so fragrant, they have so much aromatic concentration that even if the juice is separated from the skins early on, they will still give very fragrant and powerfully aromatic wines. Probably the two most obvious examples of this, and I've got an example of each of those here, is 1. a grape that is called Muscat and 2. Gewürztraminer. Have you ever had any of those types of wine? Maybe you've had that very common popular type of sparkling wine that's called Moscato. Well, this is made from the Muscat grape and you may have noticed, if you've had one, that they have a very pungent aroma of peach, apricot, maybe a little bit of pineapple, and a lot of rose-like aromas. They smell like a very fragrant rose flower. Does that ring the bell? Gewürztraminer is similarly fruity and pungent, perhaps a little more delicate. This is more of a dry Muscat that I've got here, but I'm pretty sure a lot of you would have had a Moscato. We'll talk about Muscat, the dry Muscat type. It's actually quite interesting to talk about. But other white wines that are generally classified as aromatics, but are less obviously fruity than those, and a bit more subtle aromatically, are grapes including the Vidal Blanc, there is the Ressling as well, one that is called Müller Turgo from Germany, Albareño from Spain, Torrontes from Argentina, a lot of Pinot Grigio from Italy, Viognier from France, and you could probably add some Sauvignon Blanc in there as well. All of these are going to have a rather marked flavor of fresh fruits. Wow! It smells like really fresh grape juice, essentially, and it is often said some stone fruits like peach, but also strong floral notes of jasmine, rose petals, and elderflower. They kind of smell sweet, at least they smell like they're going to be sweet when you taste them, even though they can be made in either a sweet, an off-dry or dry style. What those wines are great for, because they already have a lot of flavors in them, and a lot of enjoyable flavors at that, of ripe fruit, a little bit like a fruit juice or an apple or pear cider, is that they are going to be great to enjoy on their own, before a meal, or with some little appetizers or snacks perhaps. Those are sipping wines. We could call them like that, sipping wines, because they're great for that. They're also great for going with dessert, because fruit flavors often go well with cakes and things, right? I personally tend to think that if we want to categorize a little further, that the aromatics made in a dry style are the best sipping wines, because that makes them refreshing, they are dry yet they're smooth, and they have those enjoyable ripe fruit flavors, and very little savoriness to them, very little vinocity. If you've never had an Alborinho, a Torontes or a Vionier for example, if this kind of dry yet fruity style of wine sounds like something that you would enjoy, I definitely recommend trying those in particular. Now, the sweeter style of aromatics, like a lot of sweet muscats, the Moscatos, and an off-dry Gewürztraminer for example, even some sweet Rieslings are for me best for desserts, but that's my personal taste. Some do love to sip on a sweet sparkling Moscato during summer barbecue or picnic, and why not? Aromatics also come handy when you like something a little sweet and fruity with certain foods, like with blue cheese for example, or with foie gras as we would do here in France. It works really, really well on spicy Asian cuisine as well. Think Thai cuisine for example, yum! Also, shellfish dishes like some creamy scallops, or some sweet savory meats like glazed pork ribs, or darkened mango kind of dish, doesn't that all sound delicious on a very fruity fragrant wine? And again, what's great here is that you can choose between the sweeter or the drier style within the aromatics family, but they both taste ripe and fruity. Really something to have in mind when you're pairing wine with your food. This is an extra option, an extra dimension to play with if you are aware of those aromatics wine category. As I think I've demonstrated here, aromatic whites can be absolutely brilliant wines for certain dishes and circumstances. But as you've probably noticed, most wines aren't like that, and there is a very good reason for this, which is that we don't always want to have a wine that tastes of peach or rose petals with everything that we eat, right? At least not everyone. When we have a nice delicate pasta dish at a good Italian restaurant is one example, or sophisticated French cuisine type of meal, or even a good old Texas barbecue, just as a few examples of combinations that may not sound all that great with aromatics. Often we simply want a white wine to add a little acidity and an extra dimension, acidic dimension to the dish, a little bit like a squeeze of lemon, but those exuberant flavors don't absolutely go with everything. And that's why you have all of the other types of neutral whites like Chardonnay, the Aligoté in Burgundy for example, the Viuras in Spain, a lot of Italians as well, they do that really well, like Garganega and Cortese, and many many more really. More neutral whites are, let's say, also more versatile across the line because they have less powerful flavors, so they sort of respect the dish and the food a little bit better aromatically. One last thought that I will leave you on to wrap things up for today is saying that some wines in this neutral category are really known for being very very neutral, almost flavorless, or say with very delicate flavors. Commercially that would probably sound a little bit better. Often they're really really acidic as well, and that's the example of Muscadet from France, some really really crisp Pinot Grigio in Italy, there are the Trabianos as well, the Italians also make quite a few of those. Those are absolutely perfect when you really need a wine with very very little flavors because you're having them with something that is very delicate flavor-wise, like what? Oysters, yes, in particular. You want something zingy but very delicate. Again, more like a squeeze on lemon but very very delicate. There is, as a dish, and there is a dish for every wine. I'll leave you with this deep and profound thought, and I will see you soon in the wonderful world of wine... Thanks for watching! Au revoir...