Do we under-value white wine?

WINE TALK
21

I get much more enjoyment from reds. simple as that

22

I don’t undervalue white wines at all, but then our cellar is probably 1/3 white wine. Many of the better whites are more ageable, more consistent, and simply better wines for the price than a lot of the reds that I see people spending lots of money on. 2005 Bordeaux vs. 2005 Prum? No contest…Prum still makes real wine, and the “Grand Cru” wines are $50 retail. Why spend $150 on overoaked, overripe Bordeaux that doesn’t resemble the Bordeaux wines of even 15 years ago? CA Cab at $100…you’re kidding me, right? Young vine Central Coast Pinot at $50+…hah! I’d rather drink $15-30 Loire, Languedoc, Italian, Rhone, German and Burgundian whites than most of the expensive red wines I see in the market these days.

Marshall

23

Marshall, I hoped you’d see this thread. Agreed on all points… however, the choice (for me anyway) isn’t usually between Prüm and Bordeaux and CA Cab, but Between Prüm and $30-$60ish reds from Faury, Jasmin, VT, etc. My typical mixed “good” case might include ten reds, one Prüm, and one Nigl Privat. It’s silly since I know the value, quality, and enjoyment are all there for me in ageworthy whites. Must buy more white wine.

It’s also worth noting that 1/3 of your cellar is still hundreds of great bottles…

24

Another thing that comes to mind is the fact that if I need a great white wine I can probably hit a good wine shop near me and grab something that is ready to drink now. Not really the case with reds IMO.

And to clarify an earlier post of mine, I have had the fortune of drinking some pretty amazing Champagnes but for whatever reason I have put those in a category that I don’t really classify as “white”. Not to mention my best Champagne experiences have come from the cellars of friends and not my own.

25

I think I have just decided to switch to whites…

26

You might as well. You don’t even have any 2001 Cali cabs so how into reds can you really be? [cheers.gif]

27

Good point…know your strengths

28

Geez Marshall, what are you trying to do, drive up the price of whites? :wink:

29

Put me in the camp that doesn’t really undevalue whites, but doesn’t put them in the same class with reds either. Excluding Sauternes, a white wine has never blown me away. I’ve had some that I thought were wondeful but nothing that’s just been amazing.

30

I am on a whites Crusade, personally. I think they are highly undervalued, but there are many that are very, very mediocre.

What I like about whites is that I think more can be made to make, um, kinkier flavor profiels. like with Gravenr’s amphora-aged Ribolla Giallas, or a bizarro Romarontin from Cheverny. Or a really well-made 100% garganega Soave, Minerally Pinot Bianco from Alto Adige, Lemony/minerally Grand Cru Burgunday, Cold Heaven Viognier from Sanford-Benedict vineyards, etc. I could go one. I love me my whites :wink: I seek them out over reds, often. (Oh, yes, I said that)

31

This is an interesting thread. Until 3 or 4 years ago, I had a serious bias in favor of red wine and my collection, amassed over more than a decade, reflected that. But since then I have found myself opening more whites than reds, both with and without foods. I have always purchased Alsatian whites with the intention of cellaring them and drinking them with age. But now I am getting more interested in Germany and Chablis. I think the paradigm shift in my drinking habits has resulted in the discovery that the best whites deliver at least as outrageous a flavor and aromatic profile as the reds I have been used to drinking, but they also deliver more variety and are better with the foods I eat most these days. A recent post referred to a kinkiness factor. I definitely understand that and think perhaps that it says what I’m trying to say better than I’m saying it.

My wine-buying goal for 2009 is to move the ratio of whites to reds in my cellar closer to even. The problem is I’m drinking the whites almost as fast as I’m buying them. In any case, I am willing to spend as much on whites as reds, but I don’t think I necessarily need to to get bottles of comparable quality.

32

We dont under-value white wine, we just over-value it less than red wine. Make no mistake, we over-value both. Its just fermented grapes. Reds age longer on average, they have a bigger, better reputation, and for some people who have actually experimented (like me) reds offer a larger breadth of interest.
BTW The 29 SB is indeed an amazing wine. Im not much of a white drinker, and it blew my mind. I didnt know the price when I tried it, (at the winery) then I saw the price tag and actually considered buying a bottle. It was that good.
–B

33

There are scarce few that I know who over-value white to red, and Justin Wells is one of them. He’d drop whatever he needed to on Raveneau, and sell all his fine Bordeaux and cult CA cabs for it.