Wine

The onslaught of summer leaves us sweaty, irritable and open to suggestions for refreshing wines. Our armor-plated palates, festooned with battle scars from massively concentrated Shiraz, tannic Cabernet Sauvignon and high-alcohol Zinfandel, are cowering in submission, conceding to the olfactory in hopes of a slight reprieve from the oppressive humidity. Staunch advocates of rich, oaky Chardonnay can be seen staring longingly towards the Sauvignon Blanc aisle in the wine shop, scared to stray too far from the comfortingly familiar labels of Jordan and Mer Soleil.

It is difficult to stray from our usual arsenal of wines. Even though Portugal, Spain, France and Italy make some wonderful and refreshing wines, the obscurity of the varietals, language barriers and seemingly incomprehensible label jargon make them inaccessible to all but the most adventurous wine lovers. The obvious solution is to find wines that we are familiar with that appeal to our new summer palate.

Images of butter, toast and vanilla are often included in our perception of Chardonnay. These traits are actually derived from an oak barrel. The process of bending the staves uses fire to loosen the molecular structure of the wood without breaking the bonds, creating the curved barrels that we see in pictures of wineries. Winemakers actually order their barrels based on their level of toastiness; light, medium or heavy!

While oak and Chardonnay have become almost inseparable, there is life for Chardonnay without oak, and it displays clean, pure, fresh flavors that lend themselves to hot summer days. Another attribute of unoaked chardonnay is the price; without expensive barrels to pay for and quicker bottling times, the price is rarely over $20 (with the exception of Chablis). Some of my favorite producers of unoaked Chardonnay are Wishing Tree, Elderton, Trevor Jones (all from Australia) and Morgan from Monterey. The versatility of Chardonnay lends itself to year round consumption.

Chardonnay is also a key ingredient in one other wine – Champagne! Long relegated to celebratory status, Champagne may be the perfect summer sipper. Bubbles, acidity, light and airy, Champagne’s only flaw is price. While there isn’t any substitution for authentic Champagne, great sparkling wines are produced on almost every continent at a fraction of the price.

My one bit of advice would be to steer clear of any sparkling wine that costs less then five bucks a bottle; it is a headache waiting to happen. Monmousseau makes a nice sparkling Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley. Codorniu makes a refreshing Spanish Cava. Mionetto makes a terrific bubbly from Prosecco grapes grown in Veneto, Italy.

For red wine lovers, it is actually pretty easy to “summerize” your grape of fancy. We can stick with your grape of choice and move towards a cooler climate, or we can stick with your producer of choice and slide towards a lighter varietal. Take Shiraz for example. Typically produced in Australia, it is usually full bodied, with big fruit, some spice, and a little pepper on the nose and finish.

Cooler climate Shiraz (called Syrah) is normally lighter, has a higher acidity and showcases elegance instead of power. Columbia Winery in Washington State produces summer-friendly Syrah. If you are infatuated with a particular producer, consider sampling some of their lighter varietals. Dropping down a price point or two will usually uncover a less concentrated, lighter style of wine as well.

While my suggestions for summer wines may or may not meet with your approval, there is still one last trick up my sleeve; serve your white wines ice cold and your red wines with a slight chill. This will showcase the acidity, reduce the apparent alcohol and reduce the body of the wine creating an instant summer sipper out of almost any wine.

The ancient Greeks would actually cut their wine with water to create an extremely light elixir. I think that is overdoing it a little though.

Contact Matt Devan at wineguy@lagniappemobile.com.

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