There are exceptions, of course, and two of my favorites are both produced in New York: the Channing Daughters Tocai Friulano, a crisp dry white made from a Friulian grape, and a minerally white Rkatsiteli, a Russian grape grown by Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars in the Finger Lakes district.

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While the white grape variety Chenin Blanc still remains the most planted in South Africa, its percentage of vineyard area has fallen in the past 10 years.

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All 24 sites could be accounted for if the first Cabernet Sauvignon vine was a hybrid between Cabernet Franc (another red variety from Bordeaux) and Sauvignon Blanc (a white grape grown widely in western France).

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Up in chilly Oregon, where they use the name "Pinot Gris, " the grape has become the state's signature white wine.

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There are other grapes grown in Savoie, too, most notably Gringet (a high-acid white said to be related to a grape from Jura, in eastern France) and Mondeuse blanche and noire (the latter is a bit like Syrah), as well as a few others that are yet more obscure.

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Pinot Gris-or its wayward Italian sibling, Pinot Grigio (same grape, different name)-just might be your next white-wine love affair.

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Pinot Gris--or its wayward Italian sibling, Pinot Grigio (same grape, different name)--just might be your next white-wine love affair.

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The Zinfandel grape is also widely used in the popular off-dry blush wine known as White Zinfandel.

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