Chardonnay – This wine lends itself to most any style of wine making from dry still wines, to sparkling wines to sweet late harvest and even botrytized wines. The two winemaking decisions that most widely affect the end result of a Chardonnay wine is whether or not to use malolactic fermentation and the degree of oak influence used for the wine. With malolactic fermentation (or MLF), the harder malic acid gets converted into the softer lactic acid which creates the "buttery-ness" that is associated with some styles of Chardonnay. The wines that do not go though MLF will have more green apple like flavors. Oak can be introduced during fermentation or after in the form of the barrel aging. Depending on the amount of charring that the oak was treated with, this can introduce a "toastiness" and flavors that many wine drinkers mistake as a characteristic of the grape itself. These flavors can include caramel, cream, smoke, spice, coconut, cinnamon, cloves and vanilla.
Reisling &mdasp; Riesling is an aromatic grape variety, most associated with Germany's Rhine region, displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet and sparkling white wines.