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+--- Thread: Which Is The King Of White Grapes (/thread-16458.html)
- rchhchan - 03-25-2005
It is said that the Cabernet Sauvignon is the king of red.
Which is the king of white or the queen of grapes?
Thanks
- winoweenie - 03-25-2005
Chardonnay. This post should be in the Ask your Moderators as this is for technical problems only. ( Which I certainly have no chance of answering [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img])
- Innkeeper - 03-25-2005
Hi Ray, and welcome to the Wine Board. Based on wine sales in the U.S. and most probably in Singapore too, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay are the best selling wines in the red and white categories respectively.
We enjoy a nice Cabernet with a steak or roast beef, and a nice oak free Chardonnay with certain chicken and seafood dishes, we would not bestow any royal designations on them.
The fastest growing wines in popularity right now each are known by two names. They are Pinot Gris/Grigio and Syrah/Shiraz.
- rchhchan - 03-26-2005
Hi Innkeeper
Thanks for the info.
I aked that question because Cab Sav. has been hailed the King of reds by many official websites. I thought Chardonnay would be the king or queen of grapes considering more than 95% of our supermart shleves are flooded with it. Reckon it is due to fashion, image and history. The most expensive Chardonnay is probably from France and France is the World's leading producer of good wines. Therefore going for a variety which the best is made by the best wine producing country in the world cannot be wrong - make sense? Do you see a future for Riesling?
Thks
Ray
- winoweenie - 03-26-2005
Ray you make some assertions that are not facts. France is NOT the leading producer of fine wine. They make SOME of the finest wines in the world. By and large their provincial wines are plonk. Italy makes more wine than any other nation and they too make some great wines. The good ole' USofA, across the board, probably makes the greatest array of fine wines in all price points of any nation in the world. We too, make some great wines. Just another view. WW
- Innkeeper - 03-26-2005
Riesling has an interesting past as well as a great future. In the early '70s and before, Riesling was the most popular white. I remember paying a dollar or more for Mondavi Johannsisberg Riesling than for their Napa Valley Chardonnay; talking $3.95 versus $2.75.
All this changed when women switched from "Chablis" to Chardonnay. Generic California Chablis had been the favorite sipping wine for the distaff set. Guys drank beer. A good PR drive finally convinced the ladies that "Chablis" was swill, and that Chardonnay was much better. So they started drinking Chard, and soon the volumne soared past Riesling.
Those who preferred to dring their wine with food stuck with Riesling as well as many other whites. Most Chardonnays morphed into highly maled oak bombs, unsuitable for consumption with most foods.
These days the majority of wine drinkers have come to realize that wine tastes best with food, and not swilled on the patio. Because of this Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris/Grigio, and others from Italy, Spain, and Alsace are becoming more and more popular.
- Kcwhippet - 03-26-2005
I really have to echo WW here, Ray. There's an awful lot in your posts that just isn't very plausible. Which are these "official" websites that have hailed Cabernet Sauvignon the king of reds? I'm not sure what the supermarket shelves are like in Sangapore, but here in the USofA, we certainly don't have them 95% flooded with Chard. As WW says, France is certainly not the leading producer of good wines. If you have a whole lot of money, you can certainly spend it on way overpriced wines from Bordeaux or Burgundy, and if that's your choice, good for you. Personally, I think you can get just as good, if not better, Chardonnay from the US than from France, and for less money. Remember, the Chateau Montelena Chard from the Napa Valley beat all the best Chards France had at a competition in Paris.
- rchhchan - 03-26-2005
Hi guys
You've made some good points esp. WW about France wines. Funny that, in Singapore, to the general public, any wine that's French is the best. As for some of the websites that hail Cab. Sav. as the King:
http://www.bluedanubewine.com/grapes_cs.html
http://www.tasteoftx.com/bevs/varietals.html
http://www.foodweb.com/maven/maven47.html
http://www.washingtonwine.org/sub_page.cfm?action=showfeature&story=wareds.html&page=11&CFID=1303630&CFTOKEN=32132561
I guess at the end of all these forums, chatting and whatnot, I'd have learnt some facts and myths about wines. By the way, is Cab. Sav. a French name?
Ray
- wondersofwine - 03-28-2005
Yes, it is a French name.
- rchhchan - 03-29-2005
Points taken. Will not dispute any further.
Thks.
Ray
- Thraz - 03-30-2005
I have re-read this thread and I feel that Ray may have been catching more flak than his post deserved. The question of which country is the greatest wine producer may be innocent in Singapore, but it will inevitably inflame passions in a forum attended by people from a wine-producing country such as this. In the end one's opinion will be based on personal taste and availability. France definitely produces a lot of plonk, much of which will never see a glass container in its entire production-to-consumption cycle. Most of it is consumed locally though, and while the debate around "greatest producer" is futile, that of "most efficient exporter" may have a bit more basis. I have never been to Singapore, but if the shelves there look anything like they do in continental Europe, even outside France, you would never know that the US makes great wine (it's a bit better in Britain, but the US selection is still dwarfed by the French one). If you look hard, you might find a bottle of Glen Ellen, and as an average consumer you will think that is the best that the US wine industry can export. No Montelena in sight. Very unfortunate of course, but nonetheless a strong influence on people's perceptions.
So the point of all this: Ray, if you think France makes the best wine, carry on - and I hope we have made you curious enough to also try US and other wines. But most of all, I hope you continue posting, a non-US perspective would do us all a lot of good. How about wine producers in Asia?