Why is it easier to find good red than good white wine?
The answer is that making really good white wine demands a great deal of the vineyard and the winemaker. In other words, it is much harder to get it right, so requires far greater skill to produce. Super hygiene also comes into the equation, and this costs money for stainless steel fermentation tanks, and a squeaky clean winery. My bet is that you have a little wine producer very near to you, and “old world” probably describes the facilities quite accurately. The odd cockerel roosting above the dusty casks, a level of crazed concrete underfoot, and an air of gentle abandon described by the Portuguese word castico, meaning typical and rustic. Sadly, this won’t do for white wine, so the little local producer who can make very acceptable red, generally falls short of requirement when dealing with white. So, be prepared to pay a little more for your white wine, because the cheaper varieties will fall short of your expectations. There are good whites around: these are well-made, fresh, frag
