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Every blue moon, a new wine-geek term surfaces that's actually useful to normal people. That's the case with "aromatic whites."

If you dine in trendy restaurants, the kind that serve duck "three ways" and Parmesan ice cream, you've probably encountered the expression, typically as a "consumer-friendly" category on the wine list, somewhere before the "full-bodied and oaky" section.

The reference is to a group of wines that have, yes, pronounced aromas, usually of fruits, herbs, vegetables or spices. The list tends to include gewurztraminer, sauvignon blanc, riesling, muscat, viognier and a host of other, more obscure varieties.

Sometimes they can suggest less edible fare, such as kerosene or lawn grass. One thing these wines are not is shy.

Want to awaken your taste buds from their meatloaf hibernation this spring? Consider making a home for these grapes in your fridge, ideally next to the crisper, where they metaphorically belong.

Three things these wines are is hugely versatile with food (especially boldly flavoured Asian-fusion dishes), fabulous to sip in warm weather and grossly underappreciated.

"When we have dishes that have mango and cilantro and other seasonal, fresh items, you want a bold full-flavoured mouthful to go with it," says Patrick Austin, corporate beverage director for Glowbal Restaurant Group of Vancouver, which operates Glowbal Grill & Satay Bar, Coast Restaurant, Trattoria Italian Kitchen and Sanafir.

Mr. Austin says he introduced an "exotic and aromatic" section to the wine list at Glowbal Grill several years ago and it has since become "by far our fastest-growing, most sought-after classification."

Okay, so maybe they're not so underappreciated after all, at least not by patrons adventurous enough to nosh on the contemporary fare at Mr. Austin's restaurants. "We don't do subtle very well," he says of the food. One "local" favourite of Mr. Austin's is Tinhorn Creek Gewurztraminer from the Okanagan.

But if there's a spiritual homeland to aromatic wines, it's Alsace in France, where gewurztraminer soars to its greatest heights.

Sometimes you won't find the grape name on the front label. Recent years have produced a flock of new, proprietary-labelled whites blended from up to seven aromatic varieties. They include Conundrum and Beringer Knights Valley Alluvium Blanc from California; Joie A Noble Blend from British Columbia; and, from the aromatic haven of Niagara, Creekside Laura's Blend White, Strewn Two Vines white and Hillebrand Trius White. A well-priced blend from Alsace is Hugel Gentil.

Depending on producer and region of origin, the aroma classification may or may not be applicable. A sauvignon blanc from New Zealand, for example, will almost always be considered aromatic, with a characteristic punch of tropical fruit and grass. By contrast, a sauvignon blanc from France's Loire Valley, such as lean Sancerre, may not.

Another thing virtually all aromatic whites share is a complete absence of oak influence. Barrel fermentation and aging, which gradually expose the wine to oxygen, tends to mute the more transient floral-fruity scents that give most of these wines their character.

Gewurztraminer It's safe to say this grape is on everyone's aromatic list. Not for the olfactorily timid, gewurz vaults out of the glass with flavours of lychee, rose petals, ginger and spice. It is the nonpareil match for Asian food, including Indian curries.

Besides Alsace, regions excelling at dry gewurztraminer include Niagara, British Columbia, Australia and, thanks to a superb new $50 example called Vinoptima from veteran winemaker Nick Nobilo, New Zealand. Good Alsatian brands: Zind Humbrecht, Hugel, Kuentz-Bas.

Riesling It can be sweet, super-high in acidity and, usually when old and from Germany, smell like the exhaust at rush hour on an autobahn. Though German rieslings are among the most complex wines anywhere (including Kurt Darting and Von Hoevel), one newer and arguably more crowd-pleasing style comes from Australia. Aussie riesling can be surprisingly aromatic, bursting with fresh lime and bracing acidity.

Rieslings go with lots of food, though German ones are great with smoked fish or meats, and Australian and Canadian rieslings work with light summer fare.

Sauvignon blanc "Sauvignon" comes from sauvage, meaning wild. It should have been called Lawn-Boy blanc, because it tends to smell more like a freshly mowed yard than a jungle. Good sauvignon blancs from well-ripened grapes tend to keep the grass in balance with tropical and citrus fruit notes.

The raciest and grassiest come from New Zealand, while the most elegant come from, and are named after, two communes in France's Loire Valley, Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé. Well-priced versions from South Africa tend to walk the middle ground between those two. Best pairings: salads, cheese, asparagus.

Pinot gris This can run the gamut from lean and clean, such as pinot grigio from northern Italy, to the more opulent and genuinely aromatic versions from Alsace, uniquely spicy and often reminiscent of ripe pear. From the latter, look for such brands as Kuentz-Bas, Marcel Deiss and Weinbach.

Chenin blanc A strong suit of the Loire Valley, where it goes by various place names such as Vouvray and Savennières, this floral white can be dry or sweet, usually with jaw-gnawing acidity. Good French producers are Huët and Pinon. Look also for examples from South Africa and British Columbia, such as Quails' Gate and Inniskillin from the Okanagan.

Muscat This is one of the few grapes that actually taste like grape, specifically a white table grape. It's also quite floral. Often used as an accent in blended whites, it is sometimes bottled on its own in Alsace, where one great producer is Hugel.

Viognier Famous for making the great white wines of Condrieu in the northern Rhône Valley, viognier is reminiscent of orange blossom and honey and tends to have an appealing oily texture. Great with Indian curries.

Torrontes Sometimes called the signature white grape of Argentina, this often represents one of the best white values on the planet. I think of it as a cross between grape-like muscat and orange-like viognier, with crisp acidity and a lean but rounded body.

And rounding out the pungent pack are the less-familiar chardonnay musqué (a grapey clone of chardonnay) from Ontario, albarino from Spain (alvarinho in Portugal); fiano, falanghina and malvasia from Italy; and moschofilero from Greece.

*****

Great aromatic picks

Anne Boecklin Riesling Schlossberg 2004

France, $22.95. This grand cru from Alsace is unusually floral, with notes of red apple and

cherry.

Château des Charmes

St. David's Bench

Gewurztraminer 2006

Ontario, $19.95. Classic notes

of lychee and rose petals. Nicely balanced.

Hardys Stamp Series Riesling/Gewurztraminer 2007 Australia, $9.95. Inspired blend

of two grapes. Racy lime gets fleshed out with a tropical-lychee core. Big bargain.

Organized Crime

Chardonnay Musqué 2006 Ontario, $15. Available at the

new winery (http://www.organizedcrimewine.com), this fine rendition of a Niagara specialty grape shows pure citrus, table grape and cherry blossom in a nicely balanced package.

Red Rooster Gewurz-

traminer Reserve 2007

B.C., $20. Pure gewurz notes of

lychee and roses, nicely rounded and juicy.

Domaine Saint-Rémy Gewurztraminer Réserve 2006 France, $18.95. Lush and round, big lychee and tinned apricot notes, syrupy but finishing dry and spicy.

Vinoptima Ormond Reserve Gewurztraminer 2004

New Zealand, $53.95 (small quantity in major Toronto and Ottawa stores, or direct through http://www.winetrader.ca; available in B.C. later this year through Next Beverage, 604-940-9557, http://www.nextbeverage.com). The southern hemisphere's greatest gewurz, made by pioneering New Zealand winemaker and former CEO of Nobilo Vintners (now owned by U.S. giant Constellation Brands). A dead ringer for a great Alsatian grand cru, dripping with luscious peach-, guava- and lychee-like fruit. As British wine critic Steven Spurrier said to me when we tasted it together in 2006, "you can't get more gewurz than that."

Wolf Blass Gold Label

Riesling 2007

Australia, $19.95. Light-bodied, dry and superfresh, like lemonade infused with pineapple.

Sophisticated summer aperitif.