The Best Summer Wines

By Sherrie Gulmahamad on August 8th, 2009

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It’s too hot out.  You are dying for something else to go with the fruit salad, shrimp skewers and creamy potato salad but the cooler is full of watery beer.  Yeeeeew.  Next time come armed to those countless summer backyard parties with one of these varietals and blow friends away with how well they pair with bbq/picnic foods.

Spanish Cava

Try: Dibon Brut Reserve

It’s only July and I’m a little ashamed to say how many bottles of this Spanish bubbly I’ve consumed since the beginning of the year. I’ve brought it over to people’s houses for Sunday brunches, to baby showers, to a bachelorette weekend, to birthday parties,  basically, anywhere and everywhere I’m allowed to bring a bottle to drink.  It’s nutty, with just the right amount of apple-y acidity and despite its reasonable price ($9-$11) it tastes a lot more expensive than it is, if that’s important to you, you snob! I recently paired this with simple herb goat cheese on crunchy flat bread crackers at an outdoor summer event and I felt sorry for the poor suckers drinking Coors in tumblers and eating bad food from the concession stand.

Pinot Grigio

Try: 2007 Redtree Pinot Grigio (California)

I’m always teasing girlfriends that Pinot Grigio is “chick wine” and a tired standby for most ladies but this is a really lovely bottling at a great price in the $8-10 range.  Silky smooth mouth-feel, a lovely clear straw color in the glass, with light citrus notes.  You can sit and just drink this down glass after glass on its own. It would also go so well with seafood, pasta salads in very light creamy sauces, some cantaloupe wrapped in prosciutto, or some nice fruit salad for our vegan friends (see, I’m nice like that).

Grenache

Try: 2006 Ramian Grenache Rouge, Linden Hills

Grenache is grown all over the planet, which in my book, means it’s going to go well with all KINDS of food.  It’s gonna knock your socks off after some simple BBQ chicken or pork tenderloin.  It could be heavenly after a big spoonfull of mac ‘n’ cheese. You can guzzle it after piling heaps of hummus on a crispy salty pita chip.  For your vegetarian friends, it would also go good with baba ganoush, which is also just fun to say in general.  You should actually serve your reds a little bit chilled – just pop ‘em in the fridge for 30 to 45 minutes so they don’t feel like warm blood in your mouth. Unless you’re one of those True Blood freakazoids, then by all means, blood-slurp away!

Shiraz

Try: The Black Chook Sparkling Shiraz

Shiraz famously goes well with lots of bbq-ed products, I can especially imagine enjoying a nice glass of shiraz with a pork sausage or some grilled vegetables on a skewer, but if you really want to make friends ooh and ahh, try a SPARKLING shiraz. That’s right, a nice bubbly red wine that can be served chilled and will pretty much disappear from the bottle soon after opening. It’s tantalizingly purple, with plenty of blueberry and blackberry business going on. I brought this recently to a friend’s birthday party. Four of us stood in the kitchen, greedily scarfing down cheese and egg rolls and drinking this bottle from beginning to end in less than 30 minutes. It seriously might be worth it to buy this bottle by the case. It could be a long summer.

(Most wines found online through or locally at cowineco.com & silverlakewine.com)