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Beer, Wine & CiderHigh confidenceStandard, well-documented base ingredient, though individual wines vary.

White Wine

White wine is fermented from light-coloured grapes without skin contact, producing a lighter-bodied, more acidic drink than red wine, typically with citrus or orchard-fruit notes. Dry styles are most common in cocktail use. It adds crisp acidity and lightness to wine-based mixed drinks and spritzes.

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Common uses

  • base for wine-based spritzes
  • adds acidity and lightness to built cocktails

Buying & storage

A few days: Oxidises within days of opening, faster than any fortified wine, and a spritz made from a tired bottle tastes of nothing but its mixer.

Buying: a dry, crisp style like Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio is the most versatile choice for mixing

Storage: refrigerate after opening and use within 3-5 days, as it oxidizes once open

Before it goes

Use up white wine

Ranked by how much of it each drink uses and how little else it needs — the ones at the top will not send you back to the shop.

  • Kir

    Uses 135ml. Also needs crème de cassis.

  • Wine Spritzer

    Uses 120ml. Also needs soda water.

  • Bicicletta

    Uses 60ml. Also needs campari, soda water.

Recipes

Cocktails containing this ingredient

Stand-in

Where white wine is a recommended substitute

Recipes that name it as a swap for something else, with what it replaces.