What is the difference between dry and sweet white wine?

The difference is residual sugar, the grape sugar left unfermented. Under EU still-wine labelling rules, a dry wine has no more than 4 grams of sugar per litre, or up to 9 grams when its acidity is high enough, while a sweet wine has at least 45 grams per litre. Acidity changes perception, so a high-acid Riesling can taste drier than a softer wine with the same sugar.

Is Pinot Grigio the same as Pinot Gris?

Yes, Pinot Grigio and Pinot Gris are the same grape, a mutation of Pinot Noir. The names usually signal different styles. Italian Pinot Grigio is typically light, dry and high in acidity with a bitter almond note, while French Pinot Gris tends to be fleshier, rounder and more unctuous. Read the label and region, not just the grape, to know which style you are buying.

Why do some Chardonnays taste buttery?

The buttery note mostly comes from malolactic fermentation, a bacterial process that converts malic acid to lactic acid and lowers acidity. The bacteria produce diacetyl, which the Australian Wine Research Institute links to buttery or butterscotch aroma. Oak ageing can add vanilla or coconut notes. Chardonnay made with little or no oak, as Chablis generally is, tastes leaner and crisper, so a buttery style is a winemaking choice, not the grape itself.

Is extra dry sparkling wine drier than dry sparkling wine?

Yes. On the EU sparkling-wine scale, extra dry means a sugar content between 12 and 17 grams per litre, while dry means between 17 and 32 grams per litre. A sparkling wine labelled dry is therefore sweeter than one labelled extra dry. If you want a crisp sparkling white, check the sweetness term on the label rather than assuming the word dry means what it does on still wine.

Orange wine is white wine made with the grape skins left in the fermenting juice, the way red wine is made. The International Organisation of Vine and Wine calls it white wine with maceration: made only from white grape varieties, with a maceration phase of at least one month. It can have an orange-amber colour and a tannic, slightly drying taste, so it sits between white and red styles.

Wine Basics

Types of White Wine: A Style-First Guide

Tiedemann on Wines · 2026-10-10 · 9 min read

In briefThe main types of white wine are best understood as styles: light and crisp (Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Albariño), aromatic (Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Torrontés), full-bodied and rich (oaked Chardonnay, Viognier), sweet (Sauternes, late-harvest wines), sparkling, and skin-contact or orange wine. Body, acidity, sweetness, aroma and winemaking such as oak or malolactic fermentation decide the style, and many grapes, including Riesling and Chardonnay, appear in more than one. This guidance is for adults of legal drinking age.

Contents

What are the main types of white wine?
Why sort white wine by style instead of by grape?
What does body mean in a white wine?
What does acidity do in white wine?
How sweet is a white wine, and how can you tell from the label?
What makes some white wines smell so aromatic?
What does winemaking add: oak, butter and lees?
Where do orange and skin-contact wines fit?
How do sweet white wines get their sweetness?
Which white wine style should a beginner try first?
A note on drinking responsibly
Sources

What are the main types of white wine?

The main types of white wine are easiest to understand as styles: light and crisp, aromatic, full-bodied and rich, sweet, sparkling, and skin-contact (often called orange wine). Each style is shaped by five things you can taste or read on a label: body, acidity, sweetness, aroma and winemaking. Familiar grapes such as Chardonnay, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc sit inside that map, but many of them can be made in more than one style.

A grape name tells you where a wine begins; the style tells you what will be in the glass. This page is written for adults of legal drinking age who already choose to drink; nothing here is a reason to start.

Why sort white wine by style instead of by grape?

Because the same grape can produce wines that feel completely different. Riesling is the clearest case: WSET's guide to German Riesling describes it as a grape that "produces a broad spectrum of wines, ranging from dry to sweet." Chenin Blanc and Gewürztraminer are both listed by Wine Folly's style guide as made in "both dry and sweet styles."

Chardonnay crosses a different line. The same guide places unoaked Chardonnay among light-bodied dry whites and oaked Chardonnay among full-bodied whites. Chablis, a Chardonnay region in northern Burgundy, is described by Wine Folly as producing "a leaner style of Chardonnay generally with less oak use." Someone who dislikes one Chardonnay may enjoy another, and the grape name alone will not tell them which is which.

Even the names can mislead. Wine Folly confirms that Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio "are the same grape," yet it describes the Italian style as "usually totally dry with brilliant acidity and a bitter almond note," and French examples as "fleshy and more unctuous." Two labels, one grape, two different experiences.

What does body mean in a white wine?

Body is the sense of weight a wine has in your mouth: a light-bodied white feels closer to water, a full-bodied one closer to whole milk. In our editorial view, the main contributors are alcohol, any sugar left in the wine, and winemaking choices such as oak ageing and time on lees, all of which this guide covers below.

Light-bodied dry whites form a large family. Wine Folly's list includes Albariño, unoaked Chardonnay, Garganega (the grape of Soave), Grüner Veltliner, Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Verdicchio, Verdejo and Vermentino, and notes that these wines are "usually best enjoyed young, within a year or two of the vintage."

At the other end, Wine Folly's full-bodied white group includes oaked Chardonnay, Sémillon, Viognier and Marsanne. It says "many rich whites undergo oak aging," and that "many full-bodied white wines will age up to 10 years, although most are in their prime at around 3-4 years." That is a broad rule of thumb about a style, not a promise about any particular bottle.

What does acidity do in white wine?

Acidity is the tart, mouthwatering quality that makes a white wine feel fresh; a white with lower acidity feels softer and rounder.

Acidity also changes how sweet a wine seems. WSET's Riesling guide puts it plainly: "a Riesling with high acidity will likely taste drier than a Müller-Thurgau with medium acidity, even if they have the same level of residual sugar." Residual sugar here means the grape sugar left unfermented in the finished wine.

Winemakers can lower acidity on purpose. The Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) describes malolactic fermentation (MLF) as a bacterial process that converts malic acid to lactic acid and is conducted in "numerous white wines." Its role, the AWRI says, includes "reducing wine acidity."

How sweet is a white wine, and how can you tell from the label?

Many white wines are dry, but "dry" has a legal meaning in some places, and it helps to know it. Under the still-wine labelling terms in Annex III of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/33, a wine is "dry" if its sugar content does not exceed 4 grams per litre, or 9 grams per litre where the total acidity is not more than 2 grams below the residual sugar. "Medium dry" allows up to 12 grams per litre (or 18 grams with a similar acidity condition), "medium" or "medium sweet" up to 45 grams per litre, and "sweet" applies when sugar "is at least 45 grams per litre."

German labels have their own vocabulary. WSET explains that "trocken" indicates "a dry wine with minimal residual sugar," and that the Prädikat ripeness levels on German labels (Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese and above) "will provide clues about the potential sweetness of the wine." Clues, not guarantees: when you want a reliably dry Riesling, the word trocken is the more direct signal.

Sparkling wine labels hold a small trap. On the EU sparkling-wine scale, "extra dry" means sugar "between 12 and 17 grams per litre," while "dry" means "between 17 and 32 grams per litre." In other words, a sparkling wine labelled dry is sweeter than one labelled extra dry. If you want a properly crisp sparkling white, read the sweetness term rather than assuming.

What makes some white wines smell so aromatic?

Some grapes simply carry more perfume. Wine Folly describes aromatic whites as wines whose "perfumed fruit and floral aromas fly out of your glass," and lists Chenin Blanc, Gewürztraminer, Muscat Blanc (Moscato), Riesling and Torrontés in the group. It adds that they are "often (but not always) made in a style with some residual grape sugar." Torrontés is typically dry, Moscato usually sweet.

Gewürztraminer is the easiest aromatic white to recognise once you have met it. Wine Folly's grape profile says it "has a distinctive lychee and rose aroma," and that while "many are dry and have little to no sugar," the style can range from dry to sweet. Its acidity tends to be moderate to low, which is part of why it can feel soft and generous.

Sauvignon Blanc is aromatic in a different register: sharper and greener. Its tropical side has a chemical explanation. The AWRI identifies two sulfur compounds, 3-MH and 3-MHA, as important flavour compounds in white wines, "most notably in Sauvignon Blanc," where they contribute "'tropical fruit', 'passionfruit', 'grapefruit' and 'box hedge'" characters. That is why tasting notes for some Sauvignon Blanc read like a fruit bowl, while others lean toward cut grass.

What does winemaking add: oak, butter and lees?

Three winemaking choices do most of the work in turning a neutral white into a rich one.

Oak. Ageing or fermenting in oak barrels adds flavour and texture. Wine Folly notes that many rich whites go into oak "to add that classic vanilla or coconut note." Unoaked whites, usually made in stainless steel or neutral vessels, keep the focus on fruit and acidity.

Malolactic fermentation and the buttery note. The famous "buttery Chardonnay" is mostly a story about MLF. The AWRI fact sheet explains that diacetyl, one of the main compounds the bacteria produce, "contributes to the buttery or butterscotch aroma and flavour of wine." It also notes that high concentrations "will be overtly buttery and considered undesirable," and that "butteriness can be masked by strong oak or very fruity characters." Winemakers steer the result through choices such as bacterial strain and when they start the fermentation, so buttery character is a decision, not an accident of the grape.

Lees. Lees are the spent yeast and fermentation residue left after fermentation. Leaving a wine on them adds texture. A Loire wine explainer on Muscadet "sur lie" defines fine lees as "dead yeast and fermentation residues" and says the ageing gives the wine "complexity, freshness, and a creamy texture."

Where do orange and skin-contact wines fit?

Most white wine is made by pressing the juice away from the grape skins before fermentation. Skin-contact whites do the opposite and ferment the juice with the skins, the way red wine is made. The International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), the intergovernmental body for the wine sector, recognises this category as "white wine with maceration" in Resolution OIV-ECO 647-2020.

Under that definition, winemaking "is conducted exclusively using white grapes varieties," the minimum maceration phase is 1 month, and the wine can have an "orange-amber colour and a tannic taste." Tannin is the drying, grippy sensation more familiar from red wine, so these wines sit between styles: white grapes, amber colour, some red-wine structure. Bottles sold as "orange" are often labelled informally, so treat the OIV definition as a reference point, not a guarantee.

How do sweet white wines get their sweetness?

The simplest sweet whites keep some grape sugar unfermented. The most famous concentrated ones rely on something stranger: a fungus. In Sauternes, in Bordeaux, Taste France explains that noble rot, "a botrytis cinerea infection," affects ripe Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle grapes and "creates concentrated levels of sugar and rich, ripe grape aromas." Pickers "sort through them several times to select only the bunches most affected by the fungus."

Late-harvest wines and German Prädikat wines at the riper end of the scale are other routes into sweetness; the label terms above are the best guide to any specific bottle.

Which white wine style should a beginner try first?

Start from what you already like, then pick the matching style family.

Style	What it feels like	Grapes and wines to look for	Label clues
Light and crisp	Fresh, tart, light weight	Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Albariño, Grüner Veltliner, Muscadet, Chablis	Young vintage, "unoaked", "sur lie"
Aromatic	Perfumed, floral or fruity	Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Torrontés, Moscato	"Trocken" for dry; "medium" or Prädikat names for sweeter
Full-bodied	Rounder, heavier, sometimes creamy	Oaked Chardonnay, Viognier, Sémillon, Marsanne	"Barrel-fermented", "oak-aged"
Sweet	Noticeably sweet, often concentrated	Sauternes, late-harvest wines, sweeter Riesling and Chenin Blanc	"Sweet", "medium sweet", "late harvest"
Sparkling	Bubbles, usually high acidity	Champagne, Cava, Prosecco, Sekt	Sweetness term: "extra dry" is drier than "dry"
Skin-contact	Amber colour, some grip	White grapes with extended maceration	"Orange", "skin-contact", "amber"

If you like perfume and fruit, try a dry aromatic white before a sweet one, so you learn to tell aroma apart from sugar.

The most instructive exercise is a side-by-side: an unoaked Chablis next to an oaked Chardonnay from a warmer region. Same grape, different body, acidity and winemaking. Our guide on how to taste wine gives a simple way to note what you notice, and how cold white wine should be covers serving temperature, which changes how much aroma you can pick up. If you open a bottle and do not finish it, how long wine lasts after opening explains how each style holds up. For the other half of the shelf, see our guide to the types of red wine.

A note on drinking responsibly

Everything above assumes you are of legal drinking age and already choose to drink. The CDC's guidance says "If you don't currently drink, don't start for any reason," and lists situations in which people should not drink at all, including pregnancy, certain medical conditions, taking medications that interact with alcohol, and recovery from alcohol use disorder. Ask a doctor or pharmacist if any of those apply to you, and never drive after drinking.