11 Underrated White Wines You Need to Add to Your List

Love white wine, but tired of sipping on the same sauvignon blanc and pinot grigio? There are plenty of underrated white wines out there, so you don’t have to default to the same bottle every time. Some lean bright and mineral, while others bring ripe fruit or a fuller texture. You can find bottles that stay bone dry without tasting sharp, too.

Here are 11 underrated options to try when you want something white, cold, and a little less predictable.

Grüner Veltliner

This Austrian grape produces whites wines with a peppery bite and a citrus backbone that makes it a natural match for spicy food. Grüner Veltliner tends to land somewhere between sauvignon blanc and riesling in weight, with white pepper and lentil notes layered over green apple.

Bottles from top producers like Domäne Wachau show more depth than cheaper versions, often carrying a honeyed richness after a few years in the bottle.

Albariño

Grown along the coast of Galicia in northwest Spain, albariño picks up salinity from the Atlantic winds it grows in. Expect stone fruit and citrus up front, with notes of green apple and white peach layered over a briny finish. That salt-forward quality is why the wine pairs so naturally with shellfish, especially mussels and grilled octopus. Portuguese versions of the grape, labeled alvarinho and grown just across the border in Vinho Verde, tend to be lighter and slightly more effervescent than their Spanish counterparts.

Vermentino

Vermentino grows across coastal Italy and Corsica, producing lighter-bodied wines with herbal notes and a slightly bitter almond finish. Sardinian versions tend to have more weight and salinity than those from Liguria, often showing ripe pear alongside the herbal edge. Ligurian versions lean lighter, with more citrus and less of that saline quality. In Corsica, where the grape goes by the name Rolle, the wines split the difference, carrying both the herbal character of Liguria and some of the fuller body found in Sardinia.

Chenin Blanc

Chenin Blanc is one of the few white grapes that makes convincing wine in dry, off-dry, sparkling, and sweet styles. South Africa’s Swartland region produces some of the best dry examples, with waxy texture and notes of quince and honeycomb. In its birthplace, France’s Loire Valley, chenin blanc from Vouvray can range from bone dry to lusciously sweet, often carrying notes of baked apple and chamomile depending on the style. Old vine chenin blanc from South Africa has become especially sought after, since many of the country’s vineyards are decades older than what you’d typically find in the Loire.

Txakoli

Txakoli comes from the Basque Country in northern Spain, and it’s typically bottled with a slight effervescence from carbon dioxide retained during fermentation. The wine is sharp and citrusy, with green apple and lemon pith on the palate, often served poured from a height to aerate it and soften the fizz. Traditional Basque restaurants pour it as an aperitif alongside pintxos, and its acidity cuts through fried and salty foods. Three separate regions in the Basque Country produce the wine, each with slightly different blends of grapes, though Hondarrabi Zuri dominates most bottlings.

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Chablis

If you like classic chardonnay, you’ll probably like chablis, too. Chablis is produced using chardonnay grapes from the northernmost part of Burgundy, so it has that familiar body and structure. Where it differs is in the absence of the buttery, oaky character most people associate with chardonnay. Chablis is fermented in stainless steel or neutral oak, which lets the wine’s minerality and citrus notes come through unmasked. Expect green apple, lemon zest, and a flinty, almost oyster-shell edge that’s become something of a signature for the region. The Kimmeridgian limestone beneath the vineyards, packed with ancient fossilized oyster shells, is often credited for that distinct minerality.

Assyrtiko

Assyrtiko is Greece’s most planted white grape, and the versions grown on the volcanic island of Santorini are the ones worth tracking down. The wine carries high acidity alongside citrus and bitter almond, with a smoky, saline quality that comes from the volcanic soil the grape is rooted in. It’s one of the few whites that can stand up to grilled fish without getting lost.

Grillo

Grillo is a Sicilian grape once used mostly for making Marsala, but it’s increasingly bottled on its own as a dry white. It produces medium-bodied whites wines with tropical fruit notes like pineapple and mango, balanced by a citrus finish that keeps the wine from tasting heavy. Look for bottles from producers in the Sicilia DOC for a reliable introduction to the grape. Grillo also shows up in blends with Catarratto, another native Sicilian grape, which tends to soften Grillo’s more tropical edge with additional citrus.

Torrontés

Torrontés is Argentina’s signature white grape, grown at high altitude in regions like Salta. The wine smells intensely floral, almost like jasmine or orange blossom, but tastes drier than the nose suggests. Expect notes of white grape, tangerine, and rose petal, with a crisp finish that balances the perfumed aroma. Vineyards in Salta sit among the highest in the world, some above 5,000 feet, and that altitude keeps the grapes cool enough to hold onto their acidity despite the intense sun.

Picpoul de Pinet

Picpoul comes from the Languedoc region of southern France, and its name translates to “lip stinger,” a nod to its sharp acidity. The wine tastes of lemon, green apple, and a briny minerality that mirrors its origin near the Mediterranean coast. It’s traditionally paired with oysters from the nearby Thau lagoon, and the pairing works because the wine’s acidity matches the brine of the shellfish. Most Picpoul is meant to be consumed young, within a year or two of bottling, since the wine loses its signature snap with extended age.

Roussanne

Roussanne is one of the main white grapes of France’s Rhône Valley, often blended with marsanne to round out its edges. On its own, the wine shows notes of pear, honeysuckle, and a slight herbal bitterness on the finish. It tends to be fuller-bodied than most of the white wines on this list, with a texture that can feel almost oily in the best examples.

Give the Usual Bottle a Night Off

You don’t need to abandon the wines you already like, but the shelf gets much more interesting when you move beyond the same few grapes. These underrated white wines cover a broad range of styles. One bottle may lean crisp and salty, while another gives you a fuller texture with ripe fruit. Start with the style closest to what you already enjoy, then branch out from there. Your next favorite white may be a grape you’ve been walking past for years.