Summertime and the Sipping is Easy...
by Leslie Sbrocco
Whether enjoying a picnic at the beach or an afternoon poolside, it’s easy to uncork a little sunshine-in-a-bottle with refreshing whites. The key to summertime sipping is finding affordable wines that pass up heavy-handed oak in favor of a lively, thirst-quenching quality. Give these a try:
Sauvignon blanc from New Zealand There is nothing comparable to New Zealand sauvignon blanc. Bold, assertive and stylish, it reminds me of an Andy Warhol painting. Just as Warhol’s soup can images turned the art world upside down, when Cloudy Bay Winery burst onto the wine scene in the mid-1980s with overtly grassy, sassy sauvignon blanc, it created a sensation. Consumers clamored to get their hands on the wine that smelled like an herb garden and tasted like a squirt of lime juice.
Sauvignon blanc from the Marlborough region of New Zealand combines distinctive mouth-puckering acidity with fresh citrus flavors and aromas of freshly-cut grass. Sounds strange, but once you taste it, you’re hooked. These wines are not only easy on the wallet; they pair beautifully with grilled scallops or shrimp, spicy Thai and even red-hot Mexican food.
Pinot grigio from Italy or Pinot gris from Oregon Few wines are as refreshing, affordable and versatile as pinot grigio. Most Italian bottlings come from northern Italy, yet Tuscany (the central Italian home of Chianti) is coming on strong, producing ripe and concentrated versions.
This light-bodied white makes delicate seafood sing, but is just at home served with fuller, spicier fare. Pinot grigio’s lemon/lime tartness acts like a knife slicing through rich cheese stuffed mushrooms or fettuccine alfredo, while its palate-cooling freshness tames piquant curry sauces and fiery kung pao chicken.
Don’t miss versions from Oregon, either. Usually labeled pinot gris (pinot grigio and pinot gris are the same grape variety), they sport exotic melon and peach notes and usually have less bite and more flesh than their Italian brethren.
Verdelho from Australia This is my new favorite white wine. I think of it as a cross between zesty New Zealand sauvignon blanc and opulent Oregon pinot gris. Produced primarily in the Hunter Valley and McLaren Vale regions of Australia, verdelho is a relatively obscure grape responsible for the unique wines of Madeira (which is fortified wine from an island of the same name located off the coast of Portugal).
Verdelho is an ideal food wine as comfortable with fried chicken as it is with bean burritos. Though not lining store shelves yet, verdelho is worth the search.
Chenin blanc from Clarksburg, California Talk about stash-your-cash wine, chenin blanc is it. Even the best bottlings from California’s small growing area named Clarksburg are reasonably priced. Soft and juicy, this crowd-pleasing wine is ideal for chardonnay drinkers looking for something new.
Chenin blanc grown in other parts of California can be bland and boring, but not from Clarksburg. Located just south of the state’s capital, the hot region is influenced by the Sacramento River. Warm days are tempered by cool nights, so Clarksburg chenin blanc expresses a ripe, yet zippy nectarine character.
The grape variety is famous in France’s Loire Valley where it produces wines such as Vouvray and delicious sparkling wine named Crémant de Loire, so once you’ve explored California chenin move on to France.
Did I mention the terrific chenin blancs coming from South Africa? Ah, too much wine, too little time…
| In addition to contributing to wineanswers.com, Leslie Sbrocco is the author of Wine for Women: A Guide to Buying, Pairing and Sharing Wine and Leslie Sbrocco's Simple and Savvy Wine Guide. Leslie is a regular wine columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, writes Tasting Notes for Epicurious, and her work may be read in Redbook, Good Housekeeping, O! the Oprah Magazine, Coastal Living and many other publications. She is the host of Check Please! Bay Area and appears on television and radio programs around the country. |  |