The other day, I opened a bottle of Saxum James Berry Vineyard Syrah based wine from the Paso Robles region of Central California. While this wine was an excellent red wine with loads of concentrated ripe dark red fruit with hints of pebble and earth and would pair nicely with braised short ribs, it almost felt like honey on the palate in the 90 degree heat. As it were, like wearing flannel trousers in the dead of summer.
Though most sommeliers try to pair the perfect wine with each dish, there is also a seasonal pairing with wines, especially in the tropics where summers bring almost intolerable heat and humidity. So keep those hearty red wines in storage until the leaves turn color, this is the time for summertime sippers.
Starting At Your Neighborhood Market
For starters, many of these summertime sippers can be found right in your local supermarket. Let’s start with Pinot Grigio (in Italy) or Pinot Gris (in America). This reddish grape that produces white wines is one of the many relatives of Pinot Noir. In the states it produces floral, fragrant wines that pair well with most white meats. In Italy, the same grape produces citrusy-lemony wines with lighter body than the American counterparts. However both styles are great with summer salads and grilled seafood. Most labels can be purchased in the $10 to $20 range and I know your supermarket carries Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio (the commercial with the slim brunette admiring herself in the black evening dress).
Moving along, one of my favorite hot weather wines is Sauvignon Blanc (or Fume Blanc ala Robert Mondavi). I highlighted this grape varietal about 1 year ago (The Forgotten Sauvignon). With a lighter body than Chardonnay and no palate coating oak or butter or vanilla flavors, this refreshing white wine with its herbal qualities and nice acid is the perfect partner for all seafood and grilled veggies. Once again, most Sauvignon Blancs run the $10 to $20 range so they fit most budgets.
Finally, Rieslings are also a favorite summer wine with their combination of fruit flavors (apricot, litchi, melon), fragrant aromas (honeysuckle, tropical flowers), mouthwatering acidity and pleasant sweetness that refreshes the palate with every sip. An added bonus is that the best summertime varieties are the CHEAPER Rieslings. You don’t have to and really don’t want to purchase those $50 plus German Spatlese and Auslese Rieslings for those summertime gatherings. What you do want are domestic Rieslings straight from the Golden State or farther north in Oregon and Washington. Again, they run in the $10 to $20 range and pair perfectly with spicier foods like Thai, Vietnamese or grilled poultry slathered with spicy, sweet barbecue sauce.
How About the Neighborhood Wine Shop
If you already live in wine country or one of the ritzier Bay Area neighborhoods, you might be able to find some of these wines in your neighborhood market. For the rest of us, it might be easier to peruse the local wine shop for these selections.
For starters, a favorite hot weather white wine is Chardonnay. What?! Chardonnay that coats the palate with buttery richness, vanilla, oak and ripe rich fruit that makes your mouth feel 10 degrees warmer than the surrounding sun drenched soil. NO, not THAT Chardonnay. The other Chardonnay from Chablis. And not that $75 Premier or Grand Cru Chablis on the top shelves of the wine shop. Nor am I talking about that $10 box of “Chablis” from the bottom shelf of the supermarket (which has as much in common with real Chablis as a Hyundai has to a Lexus). I’m talking about every day real French Chablis – which will only set you back about $20. Chardonnay from the Chablis region of France is made clean and crisp with lots of citrus and hints of mineral. Your palate will be refreshed with every sip since it won’t be weighed down with tons of oak, butter or fat fruit. Perfect with chilled seafood!
Several wineries in the United States and Australia are following Chablis’ lead and producing Chardonnays that see no oak or are minimally oak aged and produce that same clean, crisp minerality seen in Chablis. Since those “wintertime” Chardonnays dominate most of the shelf space, you may have a harder time finding these unoaked Chardonnays.
If you local wine purveyor has a nice selection of Italian whites, I would suggest an Arneis, Vermentino or Soave. Arneis wines have a subtle perfume of apple, pear and herbs and pair nicely with traditional antipasti like proscuitto wrapped melon, salami and hard cheeses. Vermentino wines have apple, citrus and stone fruit flavors and are great with any type of seafood, especially shrimp. Finally, Soave is actually the name of the wine, not the grape itself (made from Garganega and Trebbiano di Soave). This wine has hints of almonds, tropical fruit and flowers. Whether you venture to try one or all three, they are all food friendly wines and all three are usually priced below $20 per bottle.
Just Gotta Have That Red
For those of you who just can’t bear to look at a glass of white wine, simply close your eyes while sipping. Just kidding. Just browse the Italian section of your local wine shop and look for Dolcetto or Barbera. These are light to medium bodied red wines with predominant cherry and other red fruit flavors and lighter tannins. You won’t find rich, ripe fruit that might overwhelm your palate on a hot day nor will you find mouth stripping tannins. Barbera does have enough acid to cleanse fat off of your palate and invite you to take another sip. While Dolcetto doesn’t have the palate cleansing acid of Barbera, it does have sweeter fruit aromas that pair nicely with sweeter barbecue sauces. Since both are red wines, they naturally pair with meats and cheeses better than white wines. Since both aren’t really meant for extended cellaring, I usually purchase a couple of bottles at the start of summer for consumption through that summer. And if the temperature is above 80 degrees, it wouldn’t hurt to chill these wines in the refrigerator for about 1 hour.
Already Highlighted
I previously highlighted my other summertime favorites such as Prosecco and Rose so you can look back at previous columns (“What A Bubbly Personality” and “Will the Real Rose Please Stand”) on my website and blog site. I didn’t cover those slightly sweet sippers with very low alcohol and nice fragrant fruit such as Bug Juice and Birbet. But that’s another column.
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