Furmint is a high-acid white grape best known from Hungary’s Tokaj region, producing everything from bone-dry whites to intensely sweet Tokaji. Expect green apple, pear and citrus with quince, herbs and a mineral edge, while sweeter styles bring apricot and honey. It’s brilliant with seafood, roast chicken, pork, spicy Asian food, blue cheese and fruit desserts.
Vermentino is a dry, crisp white best known from coastal Italy, particularly Sardinia and Liguria, with lemon, lime and green apple alongside fresh herbs and a salty, mineral edge. Bright, Mediterranean and made for seafood, it’s brilliant with prawns, grilled fish, seafood pasta, calamari, pesto and fresh salads.
Sancerre is a dry, crisp white from the Loire Valley in France, made from Sauvignon Blanc. Expect lemon, grapefruit and green apple with fresh herbs and a distinctive mineral edge. Elegant, zesty and seriously refreshing, it’s brilliant with goat’s cheese, oysters, prawns, grilled fish, sushi, salads and asparagus.
Verdicchio is a dry, crisp white from the Marche region of central Italy, known for lemon, green apple and pear flavours with herbs, minerals and a distinctive almond finish. Fresh but full of character, it’s brilliant with prawns, grilled fish, seafood pasta, roast chicken, risotto and fresh Mediterranean dishes.
Picpoul de Pinet is a bone-dry, light-bodied white from the Languedoc in southern France, made from the Picpoul grape. Expect lemon, lime and green apple with fresh herbs and a salty, mineral edge. Crisp, zesty and made for seafood, it’s brilliant with oysters, mussels, prawns, crab, calamari and grilled fish.
Albariño is a dry, crisp white best known from Galicia in northwestern Spain, with bright lemon, lime and peach flavours alongside white flowers and a distinctive salty, mineral edge. Fresh, aromatic and practically made for seafood, it’s brilliant with prawns, oysters, mussels, crab, grilled fish, sushi and seafood pasta.