We remember the time when the height of sophistication in romancing was a prawn cocktail washed down with a bottle of Blue Nun or Black Tower while ‘Wham’ blasted out from the tape deck. Thankfully things have moved on, ‘Wham’ split up and the white wine industry blossomed to bring us fine white wine from around the world.

Wine sales have grown substantially in the last few decades bringing the prices down and making white wine purchase accessible to the masses. Chardonnay white wine grapes with their tropical and citrus fruit flavours, Viognier white wine grape that incorporates subtle tones of pine kernels and peaches, the taste of buttered toast with hints of honey that is the Semillon white wine grape all adorn our supermarket shelves and can be purchased online via online white wine merchants.

To buy white wine online couldn’t be easier. Most wine websites categorise their wines for ease of us, either places of origin, for example; French white wine, Italian white wine, Australian white wine, Spanish white wine etc or white wine grape types such as Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Riesling and Chablis etc.

White Wine Gestures will talk you through the basics for when you buy white wine from the supermarket or purchase white wine online. Many white wine labels have become household names, but what do the labels tell us? The  labels usually carry a lot of information which, to the novice, can be confusing. Firstly let’s explain the difference between old world white wine and new world white wine. Old world is the traditional birth place of the grape used in the production of the wine for example; the wine growing regions of North America and Europe. New world wines are produced outside these areas but using the same strain of grapes, as in Australian white wine, New Zealand white wine and California white wines.

The name of the maker or producer will usually be boldly featured at the top of the wine label or in a prominent place. The name of the wine on the old world varieties is ordinarily the name of the region where the grape is produced. The new world white wine is named after the grape variety. This is not always the case, but on the whole it’s a good way to remember. If there is no grape variety stated on the bottle,  a blend of grapes will have been used. The description of the wine can be found usually on the back of the bottle and this will inform you of the flavours present. You can also find out whether it is a dry white wine, sweet white wine or a rose wine.

The volume is nearly always shown on the front of the bottle in millilitres (ml) along with the volume of alcohol which is shown as a percentage (%). You will also find a year stated on the front of the bottle. Contrary to popular belief, this is the year the grapes where harvested, not the year the wine was bottled.

If you order white wines online via white wine merchants or an online wine store, you’ll be able read all the information that you would see on the bottle. Therefore, whether you are purchasing a rare white wine or a cheap white wine there should be no surprises when you receive your white wine delivery.

So now you understand the basics, hopefully you’ll feel more comfortable when buying your wine. Remember, if you are buying wine for a romantic occasion, find out what type your lucky date prefers, even if it’s only that they prefer dry, medium or sweet wine. Oh by the way, hold your white wine glasses by the stem, this way the wine stays chilled for longer as the heat from your hand won’t warm the contents of the white wine glass.