The Three White Conquerers

Whilst idling some days away over the Christmas period at my parent’s house I came across a tale of the Three White Conquerors. Some may think that this has racist connotations, however in the land of these conquerors the only varieties of race are white and red. I have heard that there are red conquerors whose empires span across the seas, but that is a tale for another time.

Rhine, Germany

Once upon a time there were three white conquerors named Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. Each of these adventurers came from a different town where they and their family grew on the vines everyday. They came from strict families where tradition of style and character were passed down through the family from generation to generation.

Riesling was originally from the Rhine region in Germany. Traditionally the cold climate produced a wine that was pale in colour due to the fewer sunny days that the little grapes were exposed to the sun. Just like Riesling's parents mama and papa Riesling he smelled lovely, like a bouquet of flowers. The ladies just adored him. While he liked the town of Rhine he knew that there was more to see in the world and decided when he grew up that he would like to travel the world and bare fruit in any region that would let him grow.

Loire Valley, France

Sauvignon Blanc was another little guy with an upbringing similar to Riesling. He was born to a traditional family in Bordeaux in France. Just like his father he was a green skinned grape with herbaceous, fresh cut grass and asparagus characteristics. His family was very well to do and all the children were polished and generally acted with finesse. There was one small problem though, everyone in the family had a great time in their youth, but they always died young. Poor little Sauvignon Blanc decided that he would go searching throughout the world to find a place where he and his family could live long happy lives.

Burgundy, France

Now we all know the story of Chardonnay and how he left his family in Burgundy, France to seek fame and fortune in California. His crisp, clean characteristics brought won him many admirers and he thought that he would take his French good looks and straw-coloured hair to an adoring public in Hollywood.

Each of these varieties had their own reasons for leaving their homeland, but the same magical thing happened as they travelled the world in search for their desires. Each spread his seed and became fathers to a multitude of children from nations around the whole world. First it was Riesling who conquered France, Austria, Czech Republic, Northern Italy, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, South Africa and the Ukraine. His thin skin did not appear to be a problem and mother earth’s soil welcomed the charming young German wherever he went.

Sauvignon Blanc never succeeded in finding a home for his family where they would live for a long time. To this day there is something about his family, which they always party too hard in their youth and don't make it beyond a couple of years. He did however also conqueror many lands and discover different places that developed his characteristics and enabled him to see things in himself that he had never known before. He has relatives in France (Loire Valley & Bordeaux), California, Australia, Chile and South Africa. His most famous conquest would be New Zealand.

And the there is Chardonnay. After his glory days of California peaked in the 1990's his imitators couldn't find work anymore in a saturated market place and fled to find their own way throughout the globe. Each of these Chardonnays settled in a different region and produced a wine that was entirely specific to that region including California, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and the list goes on and on.

The most important thing that these three grapes have in common is that they travelled the world and conquered regions with soil and climates that they had never seen before. Nowadays the gift that they offer wine drinkers all over the world is a range of wines produced from one type of grape in many different regions. They are the three noble white varieties. They are the three white conquerors that all other white varieties look up to.

Until next time, have a glass for me. Potentially Champagne on New Years Eve!