It’s a season where most of us will have at least one bottle of white chilling in the fridge. But while summer always sees an expected surge in white wine sales, the category maintains a surprisingly significant market share year round.

Sales data tracked by online retailer vino.com shows white wine volume share peaking at an average of 32% of total wine sales in July/August, but holding strong at 20% even in January.

Red wine, in contrast, plummets from a 52% share in January to 24% in July.

According to OIV data reported by Decanter in December 2023, white wine consumption grew by 10% globally over two decades – driven largely by an increased demand for sparkling wine – yet global red wine consumption had declined by 15% since its peak in 2007.

It also found that the US is the world's largest consumer of white wine. US white wine consumption rose by as much as 65% between 2000 and 2021, a trajectory that spans all four seasons.

So how well do you know your white grape varieties beyond the usual suspects?

A handful of dominant grapes rule the supermarket shelves, but they represent a fraction of what’s out there. We know that Decanter readers enjoy embracing new grapes and styles, so test your knowledge with our 12-question white grape variety quiz, and do us proud!

Take Decanter's white grapes quiz

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