White wines
Choose Spanish white wines from different grapes and growing areas at incredible prices. Our wide selection of sweet, semi-dry and dry white wines makes you want a second glass. Find Spanish white wines ideal for every occasion and easily order your favorites online at iberoWine.
White wines
White wine brings that touch of elegance and glamor to any special moment, is another variety of wine. If we think of a good wine to take at meals with fish, seafood or soft meats we will think of a white wine. We will also take it before meals, or with a good cheese.
White wine is made from red or white grapes and fermented from non-colored pulp of grapes that can be green or black. It has variable color between straw yellow, greenish or gold color. The color of the wine depends on its age; between younger, paler and older, we will find golden colors
The most outstanding types of white wine are: chardonnay, sauvignon, verdejo, riesling, and with pinot noir champagne is made.
There are many varieties of white wines because of the great variety of varieties and methods of processing.
The most common wine in this type of wine is dry white wine. Derived from the complete fermentation of the must.
To obtain the sweet wines fermentation is interrupted before all the sugar is converted into alcohol.
Sparkling wines are those where carbon dioxide that is produced in the fermentation, remains dissolved in the wine, and that when opened the bottle becomes gas.
Preparation of white wine
The base of the elaboration of the white wine practically has not changed since its beginning more than 2,500 years ago. Both Greeks and Romans produced this type of wine mainly sweets. The Romans gave it to their legions, thus avoiding drinking water that was rarely drinkable.
In summer they took it cold and in the warm winter. This practice is still being done in some parts of Europe.
The grapes are produced better in warm climates than in cold climates, but if we protect the grapes well, they can be grown in any climate.
However, white grapes need less heat than red grapes to ripen.
In the hold, the result of squeezing and pressing is stored in stainless steel barrels, then yeast is added so that the sugar in the wort is converted into alcohol. This process is called fermentation.
The fermentation process undergoes constant and continuous controls, and experiments to improve the quality of the red wine. This is done by taking samples of the must, and mixing it with different types of yeast.
Another essential point in the process of making red wine is the fermentation temperature. In the stainless steel barrel where the fermentation process takes place, temperature control is essential. The wine must ferment at a temperature of 17º. The fermentation time in this type of wine is 3 weeks. .
Also the sugar level is controlled because, during the process, when the sugar level goes down, the alcohol level rises. The fermentation is ready when there is virtually no sugar and the alcohol level for white wine is between 11% and 11.5%.
Subsequently the winemaker pumped the wine into the barrel to mix well.
The wine is stored for a few months, and then filtered to remove particles.
Finally, the bottling process arrives either fully automated, manual or a combination of both.
The key to bottling is to prevent, among the oxygen in the bottle, because it sour wine. The color of the bottle (dark) helps to preserve the wine, since light can affect the taste of the wine.
The use of cork in the wine stopper is determined by the fact that that element seals the bottle tightly, preventing air from entering.
The citrus aromas and golden colors of a good white wine make us enjoy our important moments. The aromas of a wine are obtained by the fruit. The characteristics of the grape are usually citrus, fruit aromas such as pineapple and guava; herbal, such as asparagus, lemon leaf; floral, such as jasmine, orange blossom, etc.
The taste is based on the vividness of acidity, so for dry wines, their harvesting takes place just before ripening.
The characteristic of a white wine is acidity. This is why, because of its freshness, the whites are more like us in heat and are served at low temperatures: from 6 to 12 ° C.
The harvest is done by hand, cutting the grape with special scissors that only cut the bunch, so as not to tear the plant.
In their elaboration, they are stripped of the skins and pips, so that they do not macerate. We thus avoid the extraction of bitter polyphenols that are very easy to undergo oxidation. We use only the juice of the white grapes.
As in red wines, white wines can be differentiated by:
• The type of grape
• The way of processing
• Sugar levels
• Breeding techniques.
Types of white wine
They can be classified into four types.
1.- Dry and Soft: here we classify young wines with little amount of residual sugar. They serve cold, or are taken as appetizers.
2.-Dry and wide: usually aged in bottle or barrel and have a sweet ripe fruit flavor.
3.- Semisecos: aromatic wine, ideal to accompany meals such as rice, fish, and pasta.
4.-Sweets: wines with a high concentration of sugar. They are always taken with the dessert.
Other characteristic factors of these wines can be:
to. The weather
b. Soil
c. The way of elaboration
Benefits of white wine
• Combats oral bacteria.
• Improves cognitive function.
• Reduces the risk of cancer: Moderate wine consumption and its relationship with cardiovascular diseases, has been widely studied. It is known that people living in the Mediterranean basin (France, Italy, Greece or Spain), have a lower cancer mortality rate. The flavonoids that wine has, reduce the chances in patients of prostate cancer to have ailments.
• Avoid hearing problems: wine grapes contain a substance called resveratrol, which helps slow down the body's inflammatory process, thus helping to delay hearing loss.
• It favors the assimilation of proteins: for that reason it is recommended to take with the cheeses and the meats.
• Increases good cholesterol
• Varicose veins
• Reduces the chances of having hemorrhoids.
• Avoid urinary tract infections.
In short, the benefits of white wine are abundant and important, but always take it in moderation.
When buying the best white wine online, we have to take into account these labels, or denomination of origin: Rias Baixas, Somontano, Ribera de Duero, Rioja, Alicante, Castilla La Mancha, or Rueda, are some of the best denominations.