In wine pairing, white wines are most often paired with creamy, light sauces and white meats. While this is a general rule, which can be broken, these are the flavours white wine complements best. Using white wine in a recipe adds a distinct flavour that instantly makes a dish taste gourmet.

1. Chardonnay recipes

This is a crazy simple recipe that can go on pretty much any pasta, and is especially good with chicken or shrimp dishes. While a Chardonnay is recommended, you could also substitute that out for a Sauvignon Blanc. Simply sauté garlic and red pepper for about a minute, add salt, pepper, half a cup of white wine, and a third of a cup of butter and cook for a couple more minutes.

Toss in or pour over the pasta and you’re done. While there are probably a hundred different ways to make a white wine sauce, this is just one that is super easy and that can be done in under 10 minutes.

2. Pinot Grigio recipes

It is super easy to add a (healthy) splash of Pinot Gris to the pan when frying up the meat to add to a pasta carbonara. While it hardly changes the recipe at all, it definitely adds a smack of flavour, and takes your pasta carbonara from “meh” to “marvelous!”

3. Sauternes recipes

Sauternes is a French dessert wine, and is thus a fairly sweet choice. As such, it is also great to put in your dessert. While recipes can be found for Sauternes infused custards and cakes, an easy way to make a dessert with Sauternes is to make a syrup out of it using honey, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon, then simmering peeled pears in it.

As the mixture boils and heats it will turn syrupy, and will make the pears sweet. It’s a fairly healthy alternative to other kinds of desserts, while still being delicious.

4. Riesling recipes

German Riesling Apple Cake is a dense, white cake that includes a German Riesling wine. This wine is the best for this recipe because the sweetness and the high acidity balance it out with the tartness of the apples that the recipe calls for.

This recipe is a fairly standard cake recipe – flour, butter, eggs, milk, sugar, and baking power. The powerhouse of this recipe is really in the harmony that the apples and the wine create as they meet on your taste buds.

5. Sauvignon Blanc recipes

While wine is just fine all by itself, you can also use it to create delicious summer cocktails.  Use strawberries, a little agave syrup and lemon for flavour, a shot of vodka (or less if you’re a bit of a lightweight!) and a few ounces of Sauvignon Blanc as your alcohol, and top it out with soda water. This drink is crisp, bubbly, flavourful, and so easy to make!

6. Moscato dessert recipes

As white wine tends to be a bit sweeter, it works really well in desserts and cocktails. So, here we have another wine that you can dump into your dessert or make a fun summer cocktail with. Moscato cupcakes can be made super easily by dumping some Moscato into a bowl of white cake mix. Then frost it with a regular white frosting with some Moscato added to that too.

7. Moscato cocktail recipes

On the cocktail side, Moscato goes really well in a pink lemonade or a tropical punch. Think pretty much any combination of strawberries, limes, lemons, and even mint. Here’s an easy one: add Moscato and strawberry flavoured vodka to your regular everyday lemonade, and garnish with lemons and strawberries. You’ll look fancy without even having to try.