Hot...Hot...Hot!

Hot...Hot...Hot!

August, 2011

So, far it has been a scorcher of a summer and there’s plenty more heat to come. It’s the time of year when people opt for beer and cocktails over wine and even the diehard red wine drinkers go for a white instead. It took me a while to learn to give up my reds, but a crisp white wine just makes SENSE in 99-degree Georgia summers!

As always, I would encourage you to try some “off the beaten path” whites so here is a little guide that I hope will help you branch out.

If you like Pinot Grigio, then try a lightly bubbly Portuguese Vinho Verde, or a minerally Spanish Albarinho, or a crisp Italian Cortese or Austrian Gruner Veltliner. These are all amazingly light and crisp, crowd-pleasing whites that are a great way to start a dinner party.

If you like Chardonnay, try an aromatic French or Californian Viognier with textbook notes of honeysuckle, white peach and jasmine. Or try a beautiful Italian Gavi di Gavi, or maybe a South African Chenin Blanc.

If you are a Sauvignon Blanc lover, this is definitely the season to enjoy them. If you haven’t had a French Sancerre from the Loire Valley, by all means give one a try. Or branch out with wines such as Verdicchio from Italy, a Spanish Verdejo, or a beautiful Moschofilero from Greece. All of these wines really come alive when paired with any kind of shellfish.

If you like Riesling, be sure to experiment with all the different styles out there. In Germany, a Kabinett Riesling will be drier, a Spatlese sweeter and an Auslese (late harvest) even sweeter. People mistakenly assume that all Riesling is sweet, but there are many bone-dry styles and these are often the best wines for pairing with a broad range of foods.

And a word about wine temperature…we tend to drink our red wines too hot and our white wines too cold. The ideal temperature for whites is around 55-60 degrees, but the average refrigerator is closer to 40 degrees. So, what happens to a wine that is too cold? As a general rule, the colder a wine is, the greater the perception of acidity...the warmer a wine is the greater the perception of alcohol.

So, a nice Napa Cabernet that is at “room temperature” (75-78 degrees in an average air conditioned room) will seem heavier with more “heat” from the alcohol than it would at 55-60 degrees. Although the waiter at your favorite restaurant might think you are crazy, try chilling a red wine for 5-10 minutes in an ice bucket and you will find it to be more balanced and pleasant all the way around.

As for the white wines, when they come straight out of the refrigerator, many of the aromas and flavors are muted until it comes up to the correct temperature. Don’t believe me? Try pouring a glass of your favorite chardonnay and put the bottle back in the fridge. Leave the glass on the counter for about 20 minutes then take the bottle back out and pour another glass and try them side by side. The wine sitting out will have more perceptible aromas and flavors and seem rounder and more balanced. Sometimes in blind tastings, I do this without telling people and they will swear it is not even the same wine!

And another note about wine in summer heat – please don’t buy wine and then leave it in your car for more than half an hour or so. It can very quickly become “cooked” sitting in the trunk or back seat due to the greenhouse effect and begins to taste like stewed or cooked fruits. Many people don’t seem to realize how quickly this can happen but trust me on this one!

So, hang in there and survive the heat with a crisp summer white, or if you must – read Dano’s column and grab a cold beer!

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