How to understand a bottle of wine: white wine

Catalonia has a long tradition of white wines, and in fact, all eleven Catalan designations of origin produce them. The main native white grape varieties are Macabeo, Xarel·lo, Parellada, Garnacha Blanca, and Moscatel, but there are also many foreign varieties present in Catalonia, such as Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. All of them are capable of producing high-quality white wines with a myriad of nuances. Despite this long tradition with white wine, many consumers still confuse some of the most common characteristics of this type of wine. Much of the information we need to understand what kind of wine we have appears on the label, but it is necessary to know how to interpret it. The young people, fruity

One piece of information that can give us many clues about what a wine will be like is knowing how long it has been since the grapes were harvested. The first wine consumed is the "novel" wine. In some cases, it has only been in the bottle for a couple of weeks. Then there is the young wine, which is bottled directly after fermentation and goes on sale at the beginning of the following year, so it has already been in the bottle for a few months. If we have a novice or young wine in our hands, we should expect a wine in which primary and secondary aromas predominate. "Primary aromas are those that come directly from the grape itself, and secondary aromas are those that develop during fermentation," explains Anton Castellà, winemaker and technical secretary of the DO Catalunya. These initial aromas are usually fruity and can evoke the smell of apple, pear, or citrus fruits, such as lemon, orange, or tangerine. In young white wines made in the Mediterranean, it is also common to distinguish peach tones, according to Castellà. The more floral aroma directly evokes the fragrance of a bouquet of flowers. These earlier wines are also fresher and have a lower alcohol content.

Aging has more nuances

From that point on, the rest of the wines have already been aged in casks (or even amphorae). There are the semi-crianza or oak-aged wines, which have spent between three and six months in barrels; the crianza wines, which have spent at least two years in oak barrels and a third in the bottle; and the reserva wines (which mature for a minimum of three years) and gran reserva wines (at least five years between cask and bottle). These wines exhibit many more nuances than the younger ones. The fruit aroma is not as prominent, and many more notes can be found. "It's a more complex, more powerful, more full-bodied wine," according to Castellà. Given the longer production process, it will also be a more expensive wine.

Sweet or dry

Some consumers, when ordering a white wine, confuse two concepts that are actually unrelated. A wine can be sweet and fruity, but it can also be dry and fruity. Sometimes, this information also appears on the wine label. It is considered sweet or dry depending on the amount of residual sugar in the wine, but in either case, it can be fruity or less aromatic. "Wine with a small amount of sugar is easy to drink, sweet, and ideal for people who are starting to drink wine. It is usually very aromatic, which is why there is some confusion; it is assumed that an aromatic wine must be slightly sweet, but there are also dry wines that are aromatic," explains Anna Casabona.

The type of grape used to make the wine—which often appears on the label—also gives us clues about what it will be like. For example, the varieties that tend to produce the most aromatic wines are Muscat, Sauvignon Blanc, and Gewürztraminer (which is of German origin but is also grown in Catalonia), while the least aromatic tend to be Macabeo, Xarel·lo, and Chardonnay. Another important piece of information that can give us clues about the white wine we have in our hands is its designation of origin. All Catalan designations of origin produce white wine, but there are also some differences between them. The largest producer is the Penedès DO, mainly with the Xarel·lo, Macabeo, and Parellada varieties. Young white wines from Penedès are acidic and very fruity, well-structured and harmonious; those fermented in barrels or aged in barrels, on the other hand, are structured, full-bodied, and very round on the palate. In the Tarragona DO, white wines also predominate, mainly made with the Parellada, Macabeo, Xarel·lo, Garnacha Blanca, and Chardonnay grape varieties. There is a great deal of variety among Tarragona white wines, but we can generally expect a fresh wine, with low alcohol content, and pleasant fruity aromas. White grapes also predominate in the Terra Alta region. Macabeo and Parellada are grown, but Garnacha Blanca is the most prominent. In fact, 33% of the world's Garnacha Blanca is cultivated in Terra Alta. The Alella DO also focuses on white wine, especially with the Pasa Blanca, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc varieties.