White Wine
White wine brings bright acidity and floral notes to dishes and sauces.
Flavor
warm
sweet
pungent
bitter
floral
earthy
citrus
smoky
How to use it
Lift with Acidity. Add white wine early in sauces to lift flavors with tartaric acid.
Seafood's Friend. White wine's acids enhance fish proteins without overpowering.
Common mistakes
- Sugary wines distort flavors; use acidic ones.
- Late addition leaves alcohol taste.
What goes with white wine
- Lemon. Lemon adds a sharper acidity that amplifies white wine's bright notes.
- Butter. A wine and shallot reduction whisked with cold butter makes the beurre blanc emulsion.
- Chicken thigh. White wine keeps chicken thighs moist while enriching their flavor.
- Gruyere. White wine cuts through gruyere's creaminess with its acidity.
- Brie. White wine's acid cuts brie's creamy fat.
- Chicken Breast. White wine's acid deglazes the pan and brightens chicken breast sauces.
- Cod. White wine's acid brightens cod's mild flavor in poaching liquid.
- Fennel Bulb. Wine acid and fennel's sweet anise combine well in braises and steamed shellfish.
Try tonight
- Deglaze a chicken pan sauce.
- Steam mussels in white wine broth.
- Use in risotto.
Storage
Store at cool room temperature; refrigerate after opening.