Uncorked: Enliven your wine 'wardrobe' with new whites

Summer is when people turn to white wines — and these days, that doesn't have to mean chardonnay and sauvignon blanc.

Eager to try their hand at something different, winemakers are taking ancient grapes to new areas, even new countries. A good way to spend a steamy summer night might be to pick up a bottle of several for a comparison tasting. You might find a new favorite.

• Pinot gris, grigio, blanc: Things get confusing when one speaks about the "pinot" white wines.

There's pinot gris, thought to be a mutation of the red grape pinot noir. It's called pinot gris when grown in France, especially the Alsace region, and pinot grigio in Italy — and by either name in Oregon and even California. The wines vary from neutral to honeyed, minerally perfection — great with oysters, clams, shrimp, fish.

Pinot blanc is a genetic mutation of pinot gris/grigio (specifically the pinot d'Alsace grape for its crispness and the pinot Auxerrois grape for green-apple fruit). It's a full-bodied white grown in Alsace, where they serve it with charcuterie and goat cheese.

• Grenache blanc: This ancient French grape from the country's Rhone Valley can be neutral when poorly made, but crisp and citrusy when made well.

• Cortese: In the hillside town of Gavi in the Piedmont region of northern Italy, noted red-wine maker Pio Cesare produces Cortese di Gavi, a white from the cortese grape. Wine books call it a "minor" grape, but its fans, including me, find it lively, crisp and fruity. Good picnic wine.

• Albarino: Grown in the Rias Baixas region of Galicia, in northwest Spain, the albarino grape may or may not stem from riesling, but if it did, it was a long time ago. It's powerful and spritzy, the quintessential seafood wine.

A Galician friend tells me her family used to build an outdoor fire, put on a huge pot, boil an octopus and serve it with albarino. Can't beat a recommendation like that.

• Furmint: This rare version of the principal grape in Hungary's famous, ultrasweet Tokaji dessert wine is super-dry, tart and powerful, with crisp acid and a high alcohol content. It goes well with chicken, fish or shrimp with those great crossmarks from grilling.

Here are a few tasting notes to get you started on your homework:

Highly recommended

2006 MacMurray Ranch Pinot Gris, Sonoma Coast: hint of oak; rich, ripe apricot flavors; spicy; white grapefruit finish; $20.

2005 Domaines Schlumberger Pinot Blanc, "Les Princes Abbes," Alsace, France: aromas of Granny Smith apples; flavors of white grapefruit; crisp, with almost a hint of sweetness; $16.

Recommended

2007 Pio Cesare Cortese di Gavi DOCG, Italy: rich green apple, melon and mineral flavors; quite crisp and lively; $22.

2007 Epiphany Cellars Grenache Blanc, "Camp Four Vineyard," Los Olivos: crisp, pink grapefruit and mineral flavors; full-bodied; $23.