National White Wine Day Date in the current year: August 4, 2024

Contrary to a popular misconception, white wine isn’t necessarily made from white grapes; it can also be made from grapes with pink or red skin. White wine has a light color because it is fermented without skin contact, so anthocyanins (pigments from the grape skin) do not dissolve in the grape juice.

It is unclear when people learned to how to make white wine, but it is believed that it already existed in Ancient Greece and Rome. Hippocrates, for example, prescribed white wine to his patients as a remedy. In the Middle Ages, white wine began to be produced throughout Europe. In the 16th century, the first European vines were planted in the New World. About a century later, wine-producing regions began to invent special white wines that would make them stand out, such as Tokaji wine in Hungary or Champagne in France.

Today, white wines are produced in most white-producing regions. The most popular white grape varieties are Chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc, Riesling, and Muscat. As we’ve already mentioned above, some grape varieties with pink or red skin can be used to produce white wines as well. They include, for example, Gewürztraminer, Pinot noir, and Pinot gris.

White grapes used for the production of dry white wines need less heat than red grapes to ripen; moreover, they are often harvested before fully ripening. Due to these production conditions, vineyards producing white wines can be located in more northerly or mountainous regions. Because of this, Austrian, German, Swiss and Luxembourg vineyards are predominantly white, and most of the white whines in France are produced in the northern half of the country.

In the United States, white wines are slightly less popular than red wines, but this was not always the case. In fact, in the 1970s, the demand for white wines was so high that winemakers tried to use Zinfandel, a dark-skinned grape variety traditionally used to produce red wines, to make white wine. This is how American “blush” wines (a variety of rosé wine) were born.

More than 90% of American wines, both red and white, are produced on the West Coast in the states of California, Washington, and Oregon. Washington and Oregon white wines are usually crisper and more acidic than Californian wines due to a colder climate in these states. According to statistics, the most popular white wine varieties among the Americans are Muscat, Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot gris, and Sauvignon blanc. However, most Americans consider the price and brand more important than the grape variety.

If you prefer white wines to red wines, you should definitely celebrate National White Wine Day. Of course, the best way to celebrate is to enjoy a glass or two of your favorite white wine. It goes well with fish, seafood, poultry, cold meat appetizers, cheeses, and desserts. You can also attend a wine tasting or a vineyard tour.