As the Porgy and Bess classic goes, “Summertime and the livin’ is easy……”

As the temperature heats up your palate tends to desire something crisp, light, and refreshing. Complicated, rich, oaky and full-bodied wines probably won’t satisfy you, but chances are you’ll feel a lot warmer.

For white wines, I’m thinking a little off the beaten path, lets try Albarino, Verdicchio, and Viognier. To preserve the freshness and purity of these grape varieties, they are normally not aged in wood.

Albarino is from the Spanish region of Rias Baixas in the province of Galicia. Rias Baixas is a white wine region and ninety percent of the wine from the area is made from Albarino. Beautifully aromatic with a bouquet of peach, honey, kiwi, vanilla and citrus notes. Similar flavors are found on the palate with hints of almond, spice and mineral. It is crisp, dry and sometimes shows a creamy or supple texture. It is considered to be one of the best matches with seafood very simply prepared.  Martin Codax Burgans, Bodegas Nora and Vionta are excellent choices.

Verdicchio, one of Central Italy’s classic white wines. Grown in two DOC zones in Marche: Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi near the Adriatic Sea and Verdicchio di Matelica, further inland and near Umbria.  Introduced about forty years ago in the US most Americans know it as the Italian white wine in the tall curvaceous, amphora shaped green bottle. It is dry, medium-to-full bodied, crisp with mineral and green apple notes, a touch of exotic fruits, lemon and a little almond on the finish. It has come a long way in forty years and is one of central Italy’s most interesting wines. Verdicchio matches well with fish, shellfish, chicken, light creamy pasta dishes and sushi.  Try Fazi Battaglia Classico or Umani Ronchi Casal di Serra Classico Superiore.

Viognier, is the traditional white grape of Condrieu in the northern Rhone and blended with red Rhone varietals to soften the wine and add bouquet. Chardonnay’s precocious sister, shows off with lush flavors and exotic, perfumed aromas, but if it doesn’t go through barrel fermentation or have too high a percentage of alcohol it can be a great transition in the summer for Chardonnay drinkers. Grilled fish or chicken with fruit salsas and Asian Cuisine are wonderful paired with Viognier. The following wines are in a pure, delicate style, Circus by L’ostal Cazes, and Jean Luc Colombo from the south of France.  From California, I would suggest trying Jewel perfect for warm weather or Pine Ridge Viognier-Chenin Blanc lean elegance with low alcohol.

Roses are a good choice if you want the fruit and spice flavors of red grapes and a great partner for food. A variety of red grapes are used such as Grenache, Mourvedre, Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese, Tempranillo and Pinot Noir. The flavors are as different as the grapes used. Rose may be bone dry, slightly fruity or sweet. 

There are three ways to produce Rose. The first method is called maceration. Maceration involves crushing red skinned grapes and allowing the skin to remain in contact with the juice in a stainless steel vat. After the desired color is achieved the grapes are pressed and the skins discarded. The second method saignee or bleeding involves crushing the grapes and leaving them in a vat for several hours. The juice is then drawn off or “bled” and fermented into rose. The third method involves blending red and white wines together. This is how mass produced blush wines are made.  Blending is also the way Rose Champagne is sometimes made

Rose should be chilled and served with a variety of foods such as roasted or marinated vegetables, smoked salmon, cold meats, sausage or ham and seared tuna.  I would suggest trying Chateau d’Aqueria Tavel from France, the value priced roses from Spain such as Protocolo, Borsao or Condeza de Leganza and for a special splurge Robert Sinskey, Iron Horse and Saintsbury of California all make roses from Pinot Noir.

For the reds, lets put a little chill on all of them and try some wines from Italy such as Barbera and Valpolicella and Beaujolais from France. Typically, in the summer we grill outdoors and red wines that are served with barbecued or grilled foods should be fruity.

Barbera is the most abundant grape variety in the Piedmonte and is produced by the same winemakers that make Barbaresco and Barolo. Barberas have brilliant acidity, lush fruit with leather, vanilla and spice notes and low tannin making them a great counterpoint to food with a versatility to work with tomato based pasta dishes or a grilled steak.  For a reasonably priced but satisfying Barbera try Michele Chiarlo Barbera d’Asti Le Orme.

Given their climate in the Veneto region, the Venetians figured out long ago how to make a summertime red. Valpolicella is made mainly from corvina, with rondinella, molinara and sometimes negrara grapes. It’s a red wine of substance with dried cherry and red currant flavors complemented by notes of smoke, spice and anise. Some of the top producers of Valpolicella are Allegrini, Masi, Zenato and Tommasi.

Last but not least, Beaujolais is a straight-forward soft, fruity wine made from the Gamay grape. Flavors of black cherry and black raspberry are followed by a peppery spiciness on the finish. The wine is customarily chilled in the region and with about fifteen to thirty minutes in the refrigerator the chill will intensify the fruit and spice. Beaujolais is reasonably priced and readily available. I would suggest the Beaujolais Villages wines which are generally a blend of grapes from several villages and are of better quality than Beaujolais or better still a Cru Beaujolais from one of ten special villages. The Duboeuf Fleurie Domaine des Quatre Vents is always a treat.

It’s summertime, make your wine picks easy too.

I stumbled upon this site as I was doing some online research. For those of us who still feel like novices in this arena, the information you offered here was invaluable. Thank you for your clear, concise presentation!

Posted by: panasianbiz at Jul 18, 2006 5:39:48 PM

A great summary of summery wine delights! Living downunder we are just coming into the warm half of the year and you have me drooling.

Good to see you recommending so many alternative varietals. Maybe you would like to check out my tapenade recipe as an ideal accompanyment to wine, any time of the year. see http://www.vinodiversity.com/tapenade.html
Cheers
Darby

Posted by: Darby Higgs at Sep 21, 2006 6:31:06 PM

Summer Wine Guide thank you to give summary of summer wine guide that which type of wine we want to use in summer i like these three wines Grenache, Mourvedre, Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese, Tempranillo and Pinot Noir for summer plz give me more information about it

Posted by: jackee at Jul 2, 2007 11:38:44 PM

it wonderful summary i know about wines very much thanks

Posted by: tony at Jul 12, 2007 4:42:11 AM

it was very nice to go through this blog. usually we cant find that much informative blogs like this. thanks.

Posted by: abuy at Aug 27, 2007 8:06:55 AM

Very nice post. I liked your writing style and the way you covered the topic.

Posted by: HGH at Aug 31, 2007 8:44:45 AM

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