Say you know someone and they only think wine is red...

What white wine would you tell that person to try to change their mind? Could be producer or just a region.

Clos St Hune
Huet (specific wine depending on dryness level you are looking for)
DRC Montrachet (invite me pls).

White Burgundy 1er cru or better from a great producer, tasted blind.

Roussanne or Marsanne - a well made one served at cellar to room temperature.

I don’t agree with any of the above suggestions, simply because I don’t think someone with no (or little) experience with whites would really appreciate that style of wine.

My choices would be light bodied, aromatic, and easy drinking whites.

Some examples would be:

2016 PYCM Bourgogne Blanc
Gavi from a good producer
2016 Argyros Atlantis Assyrtiko

I would find an aged Pessac-Léognan Blanc, say 15 years old or so. Let it decant and warm up for about an hour, from the fridge. A 2005 Smith Haut Lafitte would do the trick. Complex and with a long finish.

The Viognier florals get um every time!

Move onto the next person.

2006 Vatan Clos Neore swayed my sister. Of course, immediately she asked where to buy some…

I’d start them on the sweetest Rieslings, and then slowly dial back the residual sugar from there.

Eiswein
Beerenauslese
Auslese
Spatlese
Kabinett
Halbtrocken/Feinherb
Trocken
Grosses Gewachs
1er Cru Chablis
1er Cru Puligny Montrachet
Grand Cru Chablis
Chevalier Montrachet
etc

Depends on what kind of red wine he/she likes to drink.
If they are more into the Burgundy (Pinot Noir) camp, I would recommend a Chenin from Loire, or GG Rieslings.
If they drink more Bordeaux varietal (Cab/Merlot), go with Rhone whites, or even some new world Chardonnay.

A 1er cru Burgundy opened my eyes for white wines. Wines with a bit of skin contact might be good starting point for someone who likes the structure and tannin feel in red wines.

Do they drink rose? If not, that is where I start. Then move onto white wines. Roses will give you more of those aromatics and red fruit flavors found in red wine but in a much lighter, crisper style. It’s then an easy jump from rose to something like Riesling or California Sauvignon Blanc.

If you only drink red it really narrows your options regarding food
I would suggest Riesling. Kabinett with rs and trocken GG or from Austria or Alcace

I think it would depend on their favorite reds.

if they like Barolo and new-wave California then I’m gonna suggest something different than if they like shiraz and cult Napa cabs

I like this ideal. Rose is also an obvious choice. I have used Rose for this purpose before. You just have to explain that it is not white zin. White burg or good, not over-blown, Cali chard is good, too.

I would point to the fantastic whites of Austria - especially

  • Wachau (Riesling, Grüner Veltliner)
  • Styria (Steiermark), Sauvignon blanc, Morillon (Chardonnay), Weissburgunder (Piniot blanc), Grauburgunder (Pinot gris) …

If I had to name a single wine, I would call two: JOSEPH (Sauvignon blanc from Ried Sulz) by Stefan Potzinger - and SGAMINEGG (50:50 SB and Chardonnay) by Sepp and Maria Muster.

Sure also many wines from Wachau …

Chris,

Circling back to this, my first question would be to ask what white wines they’ve had in the past that they found uninspiring?

I would also ask how they drink their coffee - my guess is black with no dairy in it. If that’s the case, give em a nice dry riesling or Extra Brut champagne.

Cheers.

High acid Kabinett from somewhere on the Rhein. Bigger, fuller wines than the Mosel.

I’m in agreement with these floral, well-balanced white wines that are either dry or nearly so. But - serve them with food! Cheese and crackers or charcuterie are both really easy. A big bowl of steamed clams and mussels. Nuts. Most wine lovers will immediately ‘get’ the aromas and flavor intensity of these whites but the acid could be a bit much if they’re not used to it. Food solves the problem and most of these wines were made to go with the stuff.