Crisp, refreshing wine options ripe for summer sipping

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This article was published 09/07/2022 (1550 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In winter, there’s nothing quite like cosying up with a hearty, robust red wine or a richer, fuller-bodied white wine. But we’re heading into summer, which means lighter, fresher wines are the order of the day.

Light and fresh, however, doesn’t have to mean suffering through watery wines devoid of flavour. There’s all manner of exciting wines out there that are crisp and clean without being bland and boring.

First off, let’s take it as a given that sparkling wines and rosés will be in heavy rotation this summer, and instead look at options when it comes to whites and reds.

In the former category, the first and most obvious choice is Sauvignon Blanc. While there are some examples of the grape that are a little on the nondescript side, generally speaking Sauvignon Blanc from Chile, New Zealand or South Africa will rarely steer you wrong, offering fresh tart fruit with zippy acidity that’s perfect for summer sipping.

The Spy Valley 2021 Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough, New Zealand — $20.99, Liquor Marts and beyond) has recently returned to our market, and fits that bill perfectly. Pale straw in colour, it brings big gooseberry, grapefruit, lime zest and herbal notes aromatically. It’s light-bodied and dry, with mouth-watering acidity that comes with an almost-saline note, zippy grapefruit, gooseberry and lemon-lime flavours, a hint of chalkiness and an almost-peppery note on the modest finish (it’s 13 per cent alcohol). An elegant and balanced example of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, and one that thankfully avoids those jalapeño/green pepper flavours some New Zealand examples deliver. 4/5

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Beyond Sauvignon Blanc, there are numerous options for fun summer sips. Austrian Grüner Veltliner brings focused tree fruit and spice notes without sweetness. (It’s great with sushi or curries.) Similarly, there’s typically plenty of freshness and fruit to be found in wines made from the Verdejo or Vermentino grapes, coming from (respectively) Spain and Italy. These are your wines for salads, cheese plates, grilled shrimp and the like.

Then there are the light, fresh and fun white wines from Portugal’s Vinho Verde region. The reasonably priced wines are typically made from a blend of indigenous grapes and are light, sometimes slightly spritzy and lower in alcohol without being sweet — in other words, perfect for summer. The Aveleda 2020 Loureiro (Vinho Verde, Portugal — $14.99, Liquor Marts and beyond) is a slightly more serious Vinho Verde white — made from just one grape variety, Loureiro — but is still plenty of fun. It’s very pale straw in colour and offers fresh pear and peach aromas as well as floral and passion fruit notes. Light-bodied and mainly dry, that fruit salad of flavours work quite well with the subtle chalky and apricot notes, while the 11 per cent alcohol and lack of noticeable oak keeps things juicy and refreshing. A nice value, particularly since it’s on sale for $13.49 until the end of the month. 3.5/5

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On the red side of things, avoiding wines with excess tannin, alcohol and/or oak is ideal for summer sipping. Lighter wines that fit the bill nicely include Gamay from France’s Beaujolais region or Ontario’s Niagara Peninsula, or Pinot Noir from New Zealand, Canada, Chile, Australia’s Yarra Valley or even Germany. For slightly more body and heat on the finish, look to California Pinot Noir.

Cooler-climate regions such as Niagara offer other solid options as well. The Cave Spring CS2Go 2019 Cabernet Franc (Niagara Peninsula, Ont. — $24/4x200ml bottles, The Winehouse), for example, is an ideal picnic wine, something the winery clearly had in mind with the smaller bottles and crown caps. Aromatically it brings plum, mocha, cassis and fresh cherry notes, with little noticeable oak influence. It’s medium-bodied and offers plenty of crunchy red berry (cherry, cranberry) flavours that come with hints of bell pepper, blueberry, white pepper and chalky notes. Most of the wine was aged in larger/older neutral oak barrels, with just 10 per cent seeing time in new oak, meaning the fruit is front and centre. Chill this delicious red for 15 minutes before serving. Available at The Winehouse. 4/5

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If you’re firing up the backyard grill, you still might want to go for a bigger red. If that’s the case, look to Shiraz from Australia or South Africa, or an Argentine Malbec. Even entry-level California Cabernet Sauvignon will fit the bill here; all the aforementioned examples tend to be fruit-forward but without excess mouth-drying tannins (particularly if chilled for 10-15 minutes… always recommended for reds in summer).

California also makes a fair number of wines from the Petite Sirah grape, which brings big weight and dark fruit. The Black’s Station 2018 Yolo County Red (Yolo County, Calif. — $23.99, De Luca Fine Wines) is a blend of 63 per cent Petite Sirah and 37 Petit Verdot, both deep dark red grape varieties, in this case grown in the lesser-known Yolo County region near Sacramento. It’s inky dark purple in colour, and aromatically brings dark, brambly blackberry notes along with secondary dark chocolate, mocha and black pepper. It’s dense and full-bodied, with the chewy dark fruit notes front and centre, the secondary chocolate and vanilla notes coming with very modest tannins and a somewhat warm finish (it’s 13.9 per cent alcohol). Chill for 15 minutes before serving with steak or burgers. Available at De Luca Fine Wines. 3.5/5

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