Summertime Wines

Light and fresh. This is what makes a wine a “summertime wine”. Naturally, it’ll pair nicely with summertime foods which are generally a bit lighter fare than what we eat in other seasons.

Grapes that yield these lighter, fresher wines include Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Riesling and sparkling wines, including Champagnes. Let’s also include French Chardonnays, particularly those from Chablis. (Remember, the French don’t call it Chardonnay…it’s “White Burgundy”.) With the occasional rare exception, our popular American Chardonnays do not, however, share the light refreshing character that their French cousins have.

The two factors these refreshing wines share that lend to our summertime enjoyment are slightly lower than average levels of alcohol and slightly higher than average acidity levels. Alcohol, in addition to its obvious effect, is the component that gives wines their weight, or body. There’s a very reliable direct relationship between fuller bodied wines and higher alcohol content. A lighter summertime wine will probably not exceed 12% alcohol.

While all wines indeed have natural acids in them, “acidity” in wine parlance is not something you taste. It’s a sensation you perceive as a clean lightness or freshness. That refreshing crispness you’re enjoying in your Pinot Grigio on a hot August day results from a slightly higher level of acidity than that which is found in heavier white wines and in most red wines.

Did I say red? All the wines mentioned so far are white. There is for sure, a place for reds during the dog days of summer. The key word is…barbecue. Barbecued meats almost always have quite strong, dominating flavors. Even when you don’t use any seasonings or marinades, the charcoal itself will impart a strong smokiness to the food. Such strong flavors will overwhelm the light white wines we’ve been considering, even to the point where you can’t taste the wine at all.

Red Zinfandel to the rescue! Zin is my favorite answer to address the barbecue quandary, though there are some other reds that work well too. France’s Rhone wines (made primarily from Syrah and Grenache grapes) and Australian Shirazes both share the spicy, peppery nature of Zin that allows them to stand up to barbecued meats. The powerful fruitiness many Zins add to the mix further enhances its wonderful ability to compliment strongly flavored foods. Of course you can also find those Rhone grapes, Syrah or Grenache, by themselves (or often blended together) in bottlings from California or Australia as well. Californian winemakers doing this kind of blending are proud to call themselves “Rhone Rangers”. This barbecue approach to summertime wines differs greatly from the refreshing white wines previously described. These reds are much bigger, bolder wines, ready to take on the stronger flavors we backyard barbecuers love.

So whether it’s a red Zinfandel, Rhone or Shiraz with your burgers and babybacks, or a light white to enhance your salads, pastas or fish, now you’re ready to relax and enjoy a delightful summertime wine.