September 15, 2013Wine Wankers Guest

White wine is for girls . . .

resiling is for girls

“Only women drink white wine, men drink red wine or beer because that’s what proper men do . . . isn’t it”?  To all those men I simply say “It is time to wake up!”

Wine is like women, each has a unique personality, label and bottle shape.  A true wine connoisseur never says “I only drink red wine.” That is like your single mate who says, “Nah, I only date French brunettes with blue eyes, tattoos and a limp.” He is seriously missing out on a major part of the market, especially the blonds and a lot of enjoyment too!

Let’s be honest, most men only try a white wine because they have no choice, taking a sip of an over full glass before carrying it back to their wife at some social function.  It’s always a slightly warm, awful, sickly-sweet token gesture wine that not even your wife likes.  In fact, the only person that does is great Aunt Geraldine who sips away, pleasantly plastered in the corner, with taste buds that are stuffed from years of smoking.  But I digress…

A good toasty aged Chardonnay is “bloody beautiful mate” (in my best Aussie accent).  In Australia alone you have the unquestionable Hunter Valley Semillons which are a full on MAN white wine… but more importantly, you have Riesling.

A refreshing dry crisp Riesling is something a man can appreciate and enjoy….try this on for size! Riesling is a great food wine paired with white fish or pork, and has the balls (acidity) to stand up to many Asian cuisines.  The stigma that a Riesling is sweet wine is far from the truth with tropical stone fruits and mineral flavours that get incredibly complex as it ages.

I tasted the 2000 Pipers Brook from Tasmania (pictured) with roast pork.   This crisp dry wine had a very clean, lightly acidic finish combining hints of lemon/lime & stone fruits with a very slight honeyed nose. It was very delicate on the palette and the flavours just sat there for ages.  This aged but still refreshing white wine cut though the pork and really enhanced the flavour of the whole meal.  Perfect for a sunny Sunday afternoon without putting you to sleep.  It really opened up in the glass too, not that it had much of a chance.

It’s time for men to break the shackles and experiment with white wine…  Variety is the spice of life and you have to try something different every now and then, even if it just cements your previous position.  

If you’re worried about your masculinity drinking white wine in front of other men, just remember – serve in a massive bucket size glass :).  Bigger is better!

96 comments

  2. I never realized men had a weird hang-up about white wine… Oh well, their loss!

    I have to tell my sister about your blog, she has a real talent for picking vinegar that’s disguised & hiding inside wine bottles.

    Like

    Reply

  4. I never realised they distinguished between white and red. Some guys just think ALL wine is for women and beer is what manly men drink 😉
    PS. Irish brunettes are the best!

    Like

    Reply

  6. Totally agree! You should not rule out any type of wine in advance… I prefer red myself too and if it has to be white please dry and not sweet. But not because it wouldn’t be manly or something like that. Matter of taste! 🙂

    Like

    Reply

  8. I’ve had an 03 Grosset Polish Hill in the basement just meant for this challenge. You’ve got me thinking white. Lets see if this man can throw on his apron and think up a meal to make with it. Oops, real men don’t wear aprons either.

    Like

    Reply

  9. Personally, since I only drink wine on rare occasions, I like smoky (green?) wines – what do you think of those? Does Australia make the equivalent of Pouilly Fumes or Muscadets? Also, I do like red wine (I particularly like Montaigaillon – spelling might be off here) when I drink at all but the sulphites are a problem for me. Do you have red wines without them that are for export? I assume they are there as presevatives. Learning a lot here.

    Like

    Reply

      • Talking of Muscadet, would you believe it is one of the most popular French wines to drink with sushi here!
        Don’t worrytoo much about French spelling, it is a nightmare even for me at times! LOL

        Like

    • As “AsAcluster” mentions below, organic wines is the way forward… there is a massive drive in that direction here, however I cannot think of any I would recommend that I know is available for export… I will ask Neal and Conrad.

      Like

      Reply

    • Wines labelled as “organic” will have different levels of sulphur dioxide in the wine depending on the jurisdiction the wine is sold in (sulphur dioxide is essentially a natural substance but the practise of adding it is not). Sulphites are not only added to wine to preserve it they also occur naturally in the wine too so it’s all about the concentration. Wines without added sulphur dioxide need to be drunk very quickly after being bottled because they will oxidize quite rapidly although the tannins in red wine do slow down oxidation naturally.

      A quick search on the net for “organic sulphite free wine” will point you in the right direction.

      Here’s a good little article on sulphites in wine (and the comments add to the article too) …
      http://www.thekitchn.com/sulfites-in-wine-necessary-or-100878

      Like

      Reply

  11. Well , in my opinion , saying that white is for women and red for men , i realize that there are still a huge ignorance in the wine’s world. Like the beer . Or spirits. Cheval-Blanc , Batard- Montrachet , Hermitage – blanc , Vermentino di gallura , Marsala Vergine , Grillo , i can continue for long time , they are all fantastic white wines and saying that is really bad . Actually , any wines is perfect for their own purpose : sparkling for aperitif , white / rosè for appetizer / first course , Red for second course , Sweet / passito wines for dessert , Fortified wines after dinner / lunch or spirits ( it depends on personal taste ) .About Rosè : the most prestigious Champagnes , for example , are Rosè . And , yet , i sipped a fine white port while i was reading this . About sulphites: even in the ” organic ” and ” bio dynamic ” wines there are a small amount of them , otherwise they will go oxidize .

    Like

    Reply

  13. On a recent trip to Argentina I participated in a paired tasting dinner. I tried aperitifs, digestifs, sparkling and dessert wines I would never have tried on my own… The pairings were sublime. So while I like my reds I would never say never. Fun blog!

    Like

    Reply

  15. I have been trying for years to actually find a wine I really really like. They all just seem to make my cheeks pucker and my tongue feel like cotton. I can force myself to drink Riesling, though. One day I guess I’ll learn to drink wine.

    Like

    Reply

  16. Wine Wankers! What an offensive article – I demand that you immediately recommend that men ONLY drink red wine so us girls can have the most delicious white wines to ourselves!!!

    Like

    Reply

  17. my husband and I both love White Merlot our favorite, we had a hard time finding a wine we both enjoyed. Red was out, we tried several, either too sweet or too bold. your Blog is wonderful! I will follow your Blog..thank you 🙂

    Like

    Reply

  20. Hey guys, thanks for the collective (or perhaps individual…) ‘like’ for Miss Lily. And here’s to wine… Personally, I’ve always thought it was like men. You know? With individual personalities and shapes and all…

    Like

    Reply

  25. This post makes me smile a lot!!! you must know certain italians are worried about their masculinity not only because they might drink white wine..but even because different things…:) now I’m really laughing!
    Cheers! Luana/Rome
    ps I love FAYE…a wonderful white wine..:)

    Like

    Reply

  28. I used to hold this erroneous belief. Then for a time I dated a woman with a degree from some culinary school (I forget which one). She prepared a meal and insisted on wine pairings, including a white wine, a red wine, and a dessert wine. Sadly, I cannot remember the wines that she demanded for the meal–but I do remember impressing the owner of a good wine shop in Seattle when I went in search of the wines. All of the wines were spectacular. I was particularly surprised by how fine a dessert wine can be, especially when paired with the proper food.

    I know a couple who own a winery in Oregon, and they gave us a bottle of one of their chardonnays–superb.

    Like

    Reply

    • Sounds like a smart women… I must say many years ago I was in Savoir, France at a restaurant, ordered Fondue then a red wine to go with it… I didnt like white wine.. needless to say the restaurant owner went crazy… 2 years later I had learnt my lesson and ordered with white wine and felt the need to appoliges to him.. he said it is a common response to English men. Lesson learnt – if someone passionately pushes something, try it.

      Like

      Reply

  30. I like wine with anything. Any shade, colouration, configuration…box or bottle. I just tried Vielle Ferme Cote de Ventoux Rose. It’s great with chicken wings and football (now) Also home made pasta and chanterelle mushrooms (lunch). They’re just coming out here in the Pacific NW and I tried some today. DANG!!! The wine was nice with that too. Now that’s versatile! Mind you Richard, our wine wanker, had a barbera. From Piedmonte. Which is fine for him.

    Like

    Reply

  36. no one had ever told me that white wine was for girls, however I was under the impression that the French preferred red wine and I myself used to only drink red wine. However 2 1/2 years ago I moved to Montreal (population mostly french) and realized that white wine was a highly popular commodity, in particular many french men I met drank white wine (strange I couldn’t figure it out at first). Well I ended up developing a taste for white wine and realizing its potential and complexity. My current bf however whose a yank will buy me bottles of the stuff but will only drink red himself. So I guess he got the message that white wine is for girls.

    Like

    Reply

Please let us know your thoughts