Eight European white wines to celebrate Spring

Today, officially, it is spring, in the northern hemisphere at least. The Spring Equinox marks the point when the length of day and night is equal around the world. Next weekend, in the UK, the clocks go forward to mark the start of British Summer Time, which will mean lighter evenings and Easter are only a couple of weeks away. There are abundant daffodils in our parks and roadsides, there are green shoots on the trees and in our gardens and the birds are merrily singing and nest building. All this of course means we shall probably have a bout of cold weather and snow, which quite often hits around Easter. But this year, in particular, for all kinds of reasons, spring means new hope, new shoots of life returning in all kinds of ways. Soon.

But what this also means for wine lovers is that we can now think about turning to some lighter, fresher white wines, moving away from perhaps the weighty or oaky whites of winter, to accompany grills rather than casseroles and perhaps main course salads and fish and, when we get there in a few weeks time, the first glorious asparagus and other green vegetables. And because it’s a northern hemisphere column – in the southern hemisphere it is the start of autumn – we are sticking with European wines this week.

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When it comes to lighter wines, it as much about the style of wine as the grape itself. Take Riesling, which can be a quite mouth-filling, almost oily wine, some off-dry or sweeter wines, to much more enervating and fresher variations, which remain bone dry. So two wines which are brilliant introductions to German Riesling for newcomers or those who might have felt their styles too off-dry or fruity. The Schieferkopf Riesling Trocken Baden 2018 (£12.50 etonvintners.com; £12.95 vinowines.co.uk) delivers very spring-like floral aromas, the palate is rounded, but dry and with restrained citrus flavours. Similarly, the KF Groebe Estate Dry Riesling 2019(£17.95 the-winebarn.myshopify.com) from the Westhofen region near the Rhine Valley is thrillingly dry and crisp, which sings and dances on the palate; both these Rieslings are ideal with any kind of grilled or baked white fish.

The Wine Barn wine list, which like some other wine merchants has made its on-trade wines available to the public due to the pandemic, is worth exploring if you want to know more about modern German wines. Chardonnay is not always associated with Germany, but they also have the brilliant Bercher Chardonnay 2017 (£28.30 the-winebarn.myshopify.com) which is a bit more mouth-filling than the Riesling thanks to barrel fermenting and little oak, but it’s a long way from, say an oaky Aussie chardonnay: elegant tropical fruits, some citrusy and herbal notes, with just a hint of white pepper; gorgeous and a great wine for special meals, particularly if involving shellfish or a baked salmon at Easter.

Talking of white pepper and staying in central Europe, the Pfaffl Dot Pepper Gruner Veltliner 2019 (£11.99 talkingwines.co.uk;£12.00 shaftesburywines.co.uk; £12.49 flagshipwines.co.uk) from the Weinviertel region near Vienna actually has the defining characteristic of gruner veltliner in its name as well as among its flavours, which lead on from the pepper to softer citrusy notes and a smoky tint in the background. While this wine would be great with any kind of seafood, I think its ideal match would be a traditional Austrian weiner schnitzel, made with veal or pork escalopes. 

Italy is of course, well known for its light white wines. But let’s put aside pinot grigio here and seek out the less well-known greco di tufo grape, which is one of the main grapes in the Campania region in southern Italy, where volcanic soils largely deriving from ancient eruptions of Mount Vesuvius give real character to the wines. The elegant Donna Elvira Aegidius Greco Di Tufo 2019 (£16.00, normally £18.00 until March 31, campaniawines.co.uk) has floral and tropical fruit aromas, but a more concentrated and savoury feel to the palate, while remaining very dry and fresh. Lovely with antipasti, pasta with seafood or simple grilled chicken. And do check out the other excellent Donna Elvira whites here.

Another under-the-radar Italian grape is pecorino which is no relation to the hard cheese but further north in Italy, in Tuscany, Umbria and Abruzzo, makes zesty dry wines, with a distinctive lemony creaminess about them, tinged with some exotic fruits. For a good introduction to the style, try the Adnams Pecorino (£7.99 adnams.co.uk) from the Southwold-based wine merchants excellent own label range, a lovely all purpose, fridge door white for that first glass of an evening after you close down Zoom. And part of its excellent budget spring range.  

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Finally, sauvignon blanc is one grape I always associate with spring – its zesty, grassy qualities, seeming to embody the season and match well with shellfish and, of course, asparagus – and its epicentre in Europe is the Loire Valley. To the west, in the Touraine area, the wines are usually the lightest, youngest and freshest, with oak usually absent. For another great spring, screw-capped fridge door white, try the Famille Bougrier Val de Loire Sauvignon Blanc 2020 (£6.95 thewinesociety.com) for a refreshing aperitif. For something much more substantial, you have to go to the western part of the Loire Valley and the ancient hilltop town of Sancerre, which is where some of the very best sauvignon blanc grapes are grown on flinty, chalky soils that give a distinctive mineral quality to the wines; for a classic Sancerre, try the Hubert Brochard Sancerre (£16.99 waitrose.com) intensely aromas and steely, mineral, bone dry citrus flavours. And a refreshing taste of spring in a glass.