Definition: white (wine)

A wine ranging in colour from almost colourless to golden yellow, produced from white grapes or black grape juice, without maceration with the skins. The chemical origin of this colouring is not well understood. The colour of a white wine depends on the grape variety, the degree of ripeness, the vinification process, the ageing process and the ageing in the bottle. Modern vinification, especially in Italy, tends to produce wines with very little colour.