Selecting and Pairing the Perfect Summer White Wine

Image: A beautiful pour of Bradley Vineyards’ Everything Happens For A Riesling

Image: Pam Freed showcases Freed Estate’s Viognier. The 2024 vintage was Oregon Wine Press’ panel pick for their June 2026 Cellar Selects.

Image: Abacela’s Albariño was made for seafood!

White Wine 101

White wine is generally made with grapes that have yellow or green skins at full ripeness, although white wine can be made from grapes with red and purple skins as well. Winemakers press the grapes as soon as possible after harvest to get them off the skins and seeds, which impart color and tannins that are typically undesirable in white wines.

Certain grape varietals have recognizable characteristics. Sauvignon Blanc can have citrus or tropical fruit and grassy or green bell pepper aromas and flavors. Gewürztraminer generally has a big floral bouquet of roses, honeysuckle, and even gardenias. Riesling, Viognier, and Albariño are all known for their peach aromas, while Pinot Gris is known for its pear aromas.

The growing conditions of the vineyard influence how the aromas and flavors present, how high the acidity is, and how high the sugars, and ultimately the alcohol will be. Generally, cooler climates like Burgundy, Sancerre, Willamette Valley, and the Elkton area of Umpqua Valley produce wines that have fresh or even unripe fruit aromas and flavors, like lemon, lime, apple, and pear. These wines are usually lighter, zestier, and lower in alcohol. Warmer climates like Southern France, Northern Spain, Tuscany, and the southern areas of Umpqua Valley produce wines that have ripe fruit aromas and flavors, like peach, cantaloupe, passion fruit, and pineapple. These wines are usually bigger, softer, and higher in alcohol.

A winemaker’s decisions about every aspect of winemaking affect how white wines smell, taste, and feel in the mouth. Decisions about when to harvest, what type of fermentation vessel to use, how much oxygen exposure the fermentation gets, the fermentation temperature, yeast selection, whether to allow malolactic fermentation, what type of aging vessel to use, when to bottle the wine, and how long to age the wine in bottle before sale, all affect the style and final outcome of the wine.

Understanding What You Like

To pick the perfect white wine, you should get to know what styles of white wine you like. Pay attention to the mouthfeel. When it comes to body, a light-bodied white wine will feel like it has a weight somewhere between water and apple juice. A medium to full-bodied white wine will feel slightly heavier, like apple cider or lemonade.

When it comes to acidity, a higher acid wine might taste zesty and make the mouth water a lot, while a wine with lower acidity might taste softer and make the mouth water less. A white wine can be dry, lacking any detectable sweetness; it can be off-dry, offering just a touch of sugar; and it can get into sweeter styles all the way to dessert wines.

Get to know the aromas and flavors you like. You might like fresh fruit or ripe fruit. Maybe you prefer citrus aromas like lemon, lime, orange, or grapefruit. Perhaps you cannot get enough of tree fruit like apple and pear, or stone fruit like peach and nectarine. You might be into tropical fruit, like pineapple, passionfruit, and guava.

Some love a floral bouquet from white wines, with aromas of white blossoms, rosé, or honeysuckle; or prefer herbal aromas, like chamomile and tea notes. Herbaceous notes of grass, green pepper, and jalapeño may really do it for you. Many people enjoy mineral notes like flint, wet stone, or even saline. Still, others like the aged characteristics of nuttiness and dried fruit.

The Broad Range of White Wines from Umpqua Valley

If you like any or all the above, you are in luck. Umpqua Valley has it all. Because of Umpqua Valley’s diverse growing climate, there are a wide range of white wines produced here that are sure to please every palate.

The northernmost part of the valley, around Elkton, has a cooler climate than the southern areas of the valley. The vineyards are reminiscent of those in Burgundy, Sancerre, and Willamette Valley. This is where the Umpqua River makes its way out to the coast, and the Pacific Ocean brings cooling breezes down the ravine to Elkton’s vineyards. A mist keeps the area cool well into the afternoon, helping the grapes to retain crisp acidity, and the longer, sunnier days give the grapes plenty of ripening time to develop aromas, flavors, and sugars. The white wines here have freshness, zestiness, and minerality to them.

In the southern part of the valley, the weather is generally drier and hotter. The vineyards are reminiscent of those in dry, warm climates of Southern France, Northern Spain, and Tuscany, Italy. Some vineyards along the river or closer to the coast get cooler nights and a cooling morning mist, helping the grapes to retain fresh acidity. There is more than enough sunshine here to help the grapes develop ripe aromas and flavors, as well as higher sugars that will lead to higher alcohol levels in the wines. The wines here are bigger in body and rounder, with riper fruit aromas and flavors.

If you are not sure what you like, visit one of Umpqua Valley’s tasting rooms. Most of them will waive your tasting fee if you buy a bottle or two.

Pairing White Wine with Food

White wines are lovely on their own, but they also pair beautifully with your favorite summer foods. The most important rule of pairing is that it is highly personal. If a pairing tastes good to you, then it is a good pairing, even if it does not align with “typical” pairing guidelines.

Keeping that first rule in mind, here are a few general guidelines about pairing white wine with food:

1. If a wine is delicately flavored…pair it with delicately flavored foods. It is easy for the flavors in food to overwhelm the wine, leaving it bland and lifeless.
2. If a wine is light in body…pair it with lighter foods. A light-bodied white wine may pair better with grilled fish than it does with a steak.
3. If food is highly acidic…pair it with highly acidic wine. A salad with a vinaigrette will make a wine without sufficient acidity taste flabby.
4. If food is heat-spicy…pair it with wine that is lower in alcohol and has a bit of residual sugar to taper off the heat. Of course, if you want the food to taste even hotter, try it with dry, higher alcohol wines.
5. If the food is fatty or oily…pair it with a wine that has high acidity. High acidity breaks through the fat, refreshing your palate.

Pairing Suggestions for Umpqua Valley White Wines

River’s Edge Winery, 2023 Aligoté. Known as “the other white grape in Burgundy” (along with its famous cousin, Chardonnay), this wine is light and bright, with notes of apple and lemon, as well as some intriguing salinity on the finish. This wine pairs well with soft cheeses like triple-cream Brie. Try it with shrimp scampi or grilled asparagus.

Bradley Vineyards, 2023 Riesling. This wine is dry and zippy, with aromas and flavors of lemon, lime, and green apple. Try it with raw oysters, Hamachi crudo, or green apples with goat cheese and honey.

Haines Creek Vineyard, 2023 Gewurztraminer. This is a crisp, refreshing expression of Gewurztraminer, with a beautiful bouquet of roses and honeysuckle. It pairs perfectly with a tangy, floral goat cheese, like Cypress Grove’s Humboldt Fog.

Freed Estate Winery, 2024 Viognier. This wine’s bright acidity is softened with a touch of residual sugar, which opens its floral bouquet and ripe peach aromas and flavors. Try it with Pad Thai or an Indian seafood or chicken Korma curry. The touch of sweetness from the wine rounds out the heat from the spices in these dishes.

Abacela, 2025 Albariño. This wine is bright, has aromas and flavors of ripe peaches and lemons, and has a finish with almond and salinity. It was made for seafood. Try it with Peruvian ceviche or a Spanish seafood paella.

Girardet Vineyards & Winery, 2025 Seyval Blanc. This wine is bright and zesty with notes of lemon rind, green apple, honeydew melon, and a distinct minerality. Try it with lox-wrapped honeydew slices or lemon-ricotta bruschetta. It pairs well with most seafood, and pairing it with something a bit spicy might pleasantly surprise you.