White still wine
White wine made by fermenting juice without skin contact. Ranges from light unoaked (Chablis, Sancerre) to opulent oak-aged (Napa Chardonnay) to bone-dry mineral (Mosel Riesling Trocken).
About White still
White still wine is editorially the second-largest fine wine category. The defining process differs from red wine production in one key way: white wine grapes are pressed before significant skin contact, separating the juice from the skins so that only juice ferments. The result is wine without the color, tannin, or phenolic structure that skin-contact red wine fermentation produces. Within this constraint, white wine production offers extraordinary stylistic range driven by vinification choices: oak treatment (stainless steel vs neutral oak vs new oak), malolactic fermentation (converts sharp malic acid to softer lactic; common in Chardonnay, never in serious Riesling), lees aging (extended contact with dead yeast cells; produces brioche and biscuit complexity), battonage (stirring lees). The canonical white still wine categories include white Burgundy (Chardonnay-dominated, oak-influenced, long-aging Grand Crus); Mosel Riesling (no oak, high acid, ages 50+ years); Loire Sauvignon Blanc (Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé — mineral, unoaked); Hunter Valley Sémillon (low-alcohol, no-oak, dramatic aging); and the diverse New World Chardonnay category spanning steely Margaret River through opulent Napa.
Production process
Principal producers
- Domaine de la Romanée-Conti
- Egon Müller
- Krug (Blanc de Blancs base)
- Ridge Vineyards
- Williams Selyem
- Catena Zapata
Editorial notes
White still wine aging potential varies dramatically: Loire Sauvignon Blanc drinks young (1-3 years); white Burgundy Grand Cru ages 10-25 years; Mosel Auslese ages 20-30+ years; Hunter Valley Sémillon develops over 15-20 years. High-acid varieties (Riesling, Chenin Blanc, aged Sémillon) age best.