Even if white wine is more approachable to drink than a red wine for a novice, it is nonetheless a complex wine that brings a genuine pleasure of tasting.

Whether for a knowledgeable wine enthusiast or an occasional lover of fine wine, dry or medium-sweet, organic or biodynamic, white wines most often deliver fruity and floral aromas and flavours with a thousand secrets.

In France, we have the good fortune to find exceptional winemakers who, through their regional expertise and innovative methods, produce white wines: dry, medium-sweet, sweet, naturally sweet white wines, and even sparkling wines.

So, let us revisit the different types of white wine and their grape varieties in order to fully savour all their secrets when tasting them.

Discover the collection of white wines from the Gérard Bertrand estates.

A summary of the different types of white wine

There are several types of white wine. 

Dry white wine

It is characterised by a very low sugar content. This wine, with a fine freshness, finds its balance solely through acidity and alcohol.

Medium-sweet white wine 

Medium-sweet wines are wines whose sugar content is lower than that of sweet wines, ranging from 12 to 45 grams per litre. They are made from grapes at optimal ripeness.

Sweet white wine

The sugar content of sweet white wines is more than 45 g/l, and can reach up to 200 grams of sugar per litre. Here, the grape berries are harvested manually in several successive passes. This is what is called, depending on the region, noble rot grapes or late harvest.

Sparkling white wine

Sparkling white wine is most often associated with Champagne, but there are many other types of sparkling white wine, all of which are worth tasting, such as Clairette de Die and Crémants.

We recommend our cuvée Code Rouge, a sparkling AOP Crémant de Limoux, Blanc de Blanc (produced exclusively from white grapes), from the Gérard Bertrand estates.

Fortified white wine

Fortified white wines are naturally sweet wines obtained by fortification. This consists of stopping the fermentation of the white wine by the addition of alcohol.

This is the case with our Muscat de Rivesaltes Gérard Bertrand, a well-balanced naturally sweet white wine that is best enjoyed chilled (10°C) as an aperitif.

The main French white wine-producing regions and their grape varieties

Certain French wine-growing regions producing white wine are recognised worldwide for the distinctive character of their terroir and the typicity of their grape varieties. To answer a question very often asked by novices, a white wine is made from white grapes and, depending on the region, also from black grapes. To avoid colouring the wine, red grape varieties such as Pinot Noir do not undergo maceration. Indeed, it is the skins of black grapes that contain the colouring matter to tint the wine. In a vinification process intended for white wine, the bunches are therefore pressed directly.

The Bordeaux region and its art of blending

Between dry, medium-sweet and sweet white wines, the wines of this viticultural production region are predominantly made from Sauvignon, Sémillon and Muscadelle grape varieties. It is in the subtle blending of these three principal grape varieties that the blended white wines of Bordeaux are born.

The Côtes de Gascogne and its atypical terroir

In the past, this region was focused on the production of Armagnac. Nowadays, grape varieties such as Colombard and Sauvignon-Blanc produce light-alcohol dry white wines. In this terroir, the phenolic ripeness of Petit Manseng and Gros Manseng is pushed in order to obtain medium-sweet white wines.

Burgundy and its star grape variety

The star grape variety, Chardonnay, comes into its own in expressing its full aromatic range within this region. Indeed, in addition to dominating as a single variety the vast majority of Burgundy cuvées, it elegantly conveys each parcel of the Burgundy terroir during tasting.

The Alsace region and its exceptional terroir

Due to its geological diversity and microclimates, Alsace produces dry white wines made from Riesling for its freshness and Sylvaner for its lightness. Then, the sweet white wines are produced from Gewurztraminer for its aromatic power and Pinot Gris for its generous intensity. Finally, sparkling white wines are made with the red grape variety, Pinot Noir, which gives a sparkling white wine.

The Loire Valley vineyard and its singular style

The diversity of Loire white wine extends across the vineyards of the Pays Nantais, the wine-growing region of Touraine, Anjou and the Centre-Loire vineyards. For example, the white wines of Anjou-Saumur are recognised for their distinctive characteristic of having a schist and sandstone soil, which favours the quality of the dry and medium-sweet white wines produced with the Chenin grape variety.

Languedoc-Roussillon and its strong terroir and grape variety identity

A wide diversity of soils varies across the terraces of rounded pebbles, sandstone and marl, limestone and schist zones, clay soils, pudding stones, sandy soils, and even basalts. Chardonnay dominates the production of dry white wines, while other grape varieties such as Carignan Blanc, the Grenache Blanc, the Maccabeu, the Bourboulenc, the Muscat Blanc, the Marsanne, the Roussanne, the Piquepoul Blanc, the Clairette Blanche, the Rolle, the Tourbat and the Viognier gracefully express the strong identity of this terroir. However, in addition to producing dry white wine, Languedoc-Roussillon also produces naturally sweet white wines, such as Muscat de Lunel and Muscat de Rivesaltes.

The Côtes-du-Rhône and its emblematic grape varieties

The most widespread white grape variety in the Rhône vineyards is Viognier. It produces rich and unctuous wines. Furthermore, the Côtes-du-Rhône also produce dry wines and sparkling white wines, from the Muscat Petit Grain grape variety. This grape variety offers complex citrus aromas to the wines of this region.

The secrets of white wine and its tasting

It is advisable to begin a white wine tasting with a dry wine, and to progress gradually from the driest to the sweetest. Indeed, if you begin with a sweet white wine, your palate will quickly become saturated. Nevertheless, to fully savour a glass of white wine, you should follow an ascending order of intensity. Some white wines are fruity, others are rather lively, while white wines aged in oak barrels are more powerful, imparting a more pronounced and intense flavour.

As for the colour of white wine, it is the grape variety and the sugar content that influence its colour. It ranges from yellow-green to russet. The younger the wine, the lighter and paler its colour, with green reflections. As it matures, its colour evolves towards more orange tones. Indeed, the orange wines from Gérard Bertrand are obtained from white grapes.

To savour the secrets of white wines, once poured into a stemmed glass, you gently swirl it to capture its aromatic fragrances and observe its colour and its legs, which some call the tears of the wine. Thus, on the inner wall of the glass, the traces appear revealing the textural viscosity of the wine.

From aperitif to dessert

Served chilled, dry white wines and sparkling white wines are perfectly suited from aperitif to dessert. Thus, La Clairette du Languedoc Adissan from the Art de Vivre collection by Gérard Bertrand is a fine example of a white wine to enjoy as an aperitif.

For lovers of sweet wines, medium-sweet and sweet white wines can very well accompany your aperitifs, provided they are served very chilled.

The ideal pairing is with seafood. However, the advantage of white wine is that it pairs well with white meats, tarts, quiches, and composed salads.

That said, the most sublime pairing is that of white wine with cheese. Indeed, enjoying a cheese such as aged Comté or Beaufort, goat's cheese or sheep's cheese, with a glass of white wine rather than red wine prevents the milk protein from curdling on contact with the tannins of the red wine, leaving a soapy taste in the mouth. Even more remarkably, the pairing of stronger cheeses, such as Munster or Maroilles, with the white wine from their region of origin is a perfect match.

And for the epicureans, the ideal cheese pairing is Roquefort, blue cheese or fourme (d'Ambert or de Montbrison) with a naturally sweet wine such as a white Banyuls.

For dessert, to accompany a cake, fruit tarts, flans, or a fruit salad, opt for medium-sweet white wines, or sparkling wines that will replace Champagne with panache.

Product list:

Our Cuvée Extra Blanc, indulgent, fresh and intense, made from Grenache Blanc

Our Prima Nature Chardonnay, an organic white wine with no added sulphites

Domaine de Cigalus Blanc, a blended white wine of Chardonnay, Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc, in biodynamics

Learn more about wine:

And find out everything about orange wine, red wine or rosé wine.

Discover the best Gérard Bertrand wines:

Best red wine

Best white wine

Best rosé wine

Best orange wine

Explore the Gérard Bertrand estates:

Its wine estates of Languedoc-Roussillon

Its expertise in the production of biodynamic wines

And discover the Gérard Bertrand wine collections.