New Wines for Your Summer Dishes

I have recently tried many new wines from around the world that are perfect for drinking over the summer season. Most are light, clean, and bright with delicious flavors that pair well with everything from seafood to barbecue. As an added bonus, they are also all great values!

PATRICK PIUZE CHABLIS TERROIR DE CHABLIS (Burgundy, France) – I always love the Chablis from Patrick Piuze, a Montreal native who purchases old-vine grapes from the top vineyards in Chablis, and showcases the terroir of that area. The Terroir de Chablis is a new Chablis from this consistently great producer. It is a beautifully balanced wine, pure, fresh and rich with aromas of ripe apricot and mango. The focus is on the minerality. This is a delicious wine that pairs well with oysters, sushi, and grilled vegetables.

DOMAINE DES EMOIS SANCERRE (Loire, France) – This is one of the few organically certified Sancerre producers. It has a pale golden color with mango and orange aromas. The wine is full and round, very steely and pretty, with abundant fruit. Pair it with chicken, turkey, Thai and Japanese entrees, as well as seafood, fish, veal, and foie gras.

DOMAINE TALMARD MACON UCHIZY (Burgundy, France) – Another fantastic Chardonnay from France. Made entirely in stainless steel, this is a wonderfully fresh, light, fruity wine. It is juicy and vibrant, perfect for summer meals such as salmon and grilled chicken. An outstanding value!

BODEGAS ZARATE ALBARINO (Rias Baixas, Spain) – Bodegas Zarate is located in the Val do Salnés, which is the birthplace of Albarino. Eulogio Pomares is at the helm of this winery, where he is making some of the greatest white wines in Spain. He is an extremely quality-driven producer whose farming is almost entirely biodynamic, creating wines that are naturally expressive. This Albarino has amazing purity and minerality. It is fresh, balanced, and delicious. Try it with light meats, ceviche, grilled or fried fish, fish tacos, oysters, mussels, and clams.

PEDRALONGA SEREA ALBARINO (Rias Baixas, Spain) – This is another delectable Albarino from Spain. Located only 10 miles from the coast, the wines are 100% hand-harvested and farmed organically. This is a well-balanced, fresh, and lively wine with lots of minerality and salinity, along with subtle flavors of citrus and apricot. A perfect pairing for grilled fish.

AUNTSFIELD SAUVIGNON BLANC (Marlborough, New Zealand) – This is a strikingly different Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. While it has all the classical flavors of lemon, lime and gooseberry, it also has a complex and beautiful richness and intensity of tropical fruit not often found in New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Pair this delicious wine with grilled fish and seafood, green vegetables, lobster, clams, scallops and crab, herb-roasted chicken, pork tenderloin.

BROOKS RIESLING (Willamette Valley, Oregon) – While the Auntsfield isn’t a traditional New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, Brooks isn’t a typical Riesling. This is a vibrant dry Riesling, incredibly elegant with aromas of white peach and lemon, and flavors of tangerine, pear, apricot and peach. It has bright and crisp acidity and is a great food-pairing wine. Match this wine to lighter, more simple dishes: chicken piccata, pasta, halibut, roasted root vegetables, and light salty cheese.

Summer Reds

TRENTADUE OLD PATCH RED (Sonoma Valley, California) – A very fruity yet complex and full-bodied Rhone-like blend of predominantly Zinfandel, Carignane, and Petite Syrah. Intense aromas of black cherry and blueberries, flavors of ripe plums, vanilla, slightly oaked. Its bright finish is long and fruity. Delicious on its own, and pairs well with barbecue and grilled meats.

PERRIN COTES DU RHONE VILLAGES ROUGE (Rhone Valley, France) – The Perrin family, which has been making outstanding wine for five generations, is the leading organic producer in the Southern Rhone Valley. This is a blend of Syrah, Mourvedre and Grenache, with flavors of crushed plum, black cherry and raspberry fruit laced with black licorice on the finish, according to Wine Spectator. Cotes du Rhone wines pair well with a variety of foods: grilled meats; all types of barbecued, grilled, roasted, sautéed and fried vegetables; goat and sheep cheeses.

VINA ZORZAL GARNACHA (Navarro, Spain) – This organically grown wine is 100% Garnacha made from 100-year-old vines. A juicy and approachable wine with flavors of black and red fruit, light easy and quaffable with a fresh finish. Serve with paella or stewed chicken, ham, stew, game or meat dishes, or great on its own. Serve just slightly chilled. An amazing value!

MONTESECONDO SANGIOVESE (Tuscany, Italy) – This is a hand-harvested, biodynamically produced wine. Silvio Messana, whose parents had a vineyard in the Chianti region, left New York with his family to run Chianti Silvio after his father died and his mother became ill. Vinous Media describes this as a “very pretty wine that emphasizes freshness and vivacity, crushed red berries, spice, orange peel, and floral notes gives this mid weight Sangiovese tons of character and complexity.” Pair this wine with pizza topped with grilled vegetables, roasted pork, prosciutto, pasta with meat sauce, pecorino cheese.

THE WONDERLAND PROJECT NO. 9 CABERNET SAUVIGNON (Atlas Peak, Napa Valley, California) – This is the perfect wine for Cabernet drinkers looking for something lighter during the warmer summer months. It is a medium-bodied wine farmed organically, with flavors of plum, raspberry, cedar, and cherry. It has a long, rich finish, and is a great value for Napa Valley Cabernet. Pair this wine with beef, lamb, game, and poultry.

SCRIBE ROSÉ OF PINOT NOIR (Sonoma Valley, California) – A biodynamic, natural wine with crisp, fresh, beautiful, juicy fruit. This is a vibrant and bright wine with toned acidity and minerality. It is perfectly refreshing for sipping chilled on the porch, or paired with a vast array of food from salads, charcuterie, chicken, and fish, to veggie skewers, lamb, salmon, and duck.

This is a great selection of new wines perfect for summer drinking and endless possibilities of lighter food pairings. Remember that you can refrigerate your lighter reds and take them out an hour before serving, so they are more refreshing.

Please drink responsibly!