A white wine future? Benjamin Lewin MW explores a bold claim

White wine 'the future of winemaking'

When I visited Angelo Gaja in Barbaresco a while ago, he said something surprising: ‘The future of winemaking is in white wines.’

This was an unexpected sentiment from the maestro of Nebbiolo, the great black grape of Barbaresco and Barolo.

Always an innovator, always a visionary, Gaja had already broken with precedent by making two Chardonnays in Piedmont – Gaia & Rey and Rossj Bass – and the Alteni di Brassica Sauvignon Blanc.

Now Gaja has followed the argument’s logic to its extreme by constructing an entire new winery, about 10km southeast of the Barbaresco winery, for producing white wines only.

The new winery, a brooding presence on a hilltop, has the capacity to handle 250,000 bottles and is surrounded by 30ha of vines planted 90% to Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, with small amounts of indigenous varieties and an experimental plot of Nebbiolo. Overall, it’s a large commitment to the belief in the future of white wine.

'The wine world hasn't settled on a response to global warming'

The wine world hasn’t really settled on a response to global warming yet, but if there’s any consensus, it’s that you can plant higher up, vineyards might face north instead of south, and you might plant varieties that previously were grown in warmer climates.

Warmer regions, though, may be problematic for making white wines, because of a lack of acidity when the grapes reach ripeness.

Sometimes there’s acceptance of the need for change; sometimes there’s denial. Higher plantings are now a reality in Chianti Classico, in Tuscany, where the permitted limit is 700m, although the majority plant up to about 600m. Barolo producers recently decided against allowing the planting of Nebbiolo on north-facing slopes.

Burgundians are completely resistant to any notion that climate change might require a revision of the hierarchy of vineyards based on position on the slope. Bordeaux is too flat to have any option of going higher.

Reversing conventional wisdom

Conventional wisdom suggests that black grapes require warmer conditions to reach ripeness than white grapes.

Indeed, one consequence of climate change has been a move to grow more black grapes in areas formerly associated with whites. Pinot Noir is performing well in Alsace, Sancerre and Baden (southern Germany); in Alsace, some growers are even beginning to have success with Syrah.

The case for whites effectively reverses convention by arguing that, with reds, you have to wait for the skins to reach ripeness, whereas with whites you can harvest on the basis of acidity and ripeness of the juice.

So whites offer better options for harvesting earlier to maintain freshness. There are producers who believe Languedoc in southern France may have more of a future producing fresh white wines, based on earlier harvesting, than reds, where alcohol is being driven up towards 15%.

And whites offer better options for blending, combining older vineyards planted lower down that produce richness from very ripe grapes with newer vineyards higher up that bring acidity.

Gaja’s existing whites are a case in point. Since 1983, the Chardonnays have come from vineyards in Treiso (in Barbaresco) and Serralunga d’Alba (in Barolo). Now they will include grapes from the new vineyards in Alta Langa.

‘We are introducing the new lots to mitigate the effects of global warming and keep the same character,’ Angelo’s son Giovanni says.

The moral is that if you go higher and go northfacing, blending with grapes from existing vineyards can keep freshness in wines without losing historical character. That’s more likely to be a solution for white grapes, because with black grapes there is always the risk of green (underripe) tannins.

This is only the beginning. What will it do to the world of wine if the focus turns from reds to whites? What will happen to the world’s great red wine regions if the locations of vineyards have to be changed and black varieties replaced with white?

If the greatest wines of the past have (mostly) been red, what will be the greatest wines of the future?

In my glass this month

In the past, I’ve found Gaja’s Gaia & Rey Langhe Chardonnay to have a rich, oaky style. Due for release soon, the 2024 vintage is different. The nose is smooth and nutty. The palate moves in a mineral direction, with richness underneath. Oak isn’t obvious. A silky texture underlines a lean style. ‘2024 was a challenge for Nebbiolo, but it was beautiful and expressive for whites,’ Giovanni Gaja says.

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