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Rosé, White and Blue
If you enjoy red wine like I do, summer is a tough season. My cellar is bursting with big red varieties that are more at home in front of a roaring fire than a sweltering summer afternoon by the pool. So what is a wine-o to do? Here are my picks for sweltering summer heat wines:
Rosé's fruit character, minimal tannins and low alchohol make it a great choice for summer enjoyment, even for guys. Just call it 'brosé'! Seriously, pinot noir is actually a white grape (think champagne), its contact during initial crush and fermentation with the skins gives it a wonderful red color. Shorten the contact time and viola!, you've got rosé! One of my favorites right now is Bricoleur Rosé of Pinot Noir. You can order it here, and yes, it's worth the money. Also, Tablas Creek Patelin de Rose. A good fallback when purchasing rosé is to buy most anything with the word Provence on the label. It's hot as Hades in Provence France right about now, and this is what they drink, so in this case, do as the French! Miraval Rose, made by Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie is fantastic and pretty easy to find.
White. In a word...Riesling. Before you say another word listen up, "NOT ALL RIESLING IS SWEET!" The crisp mineralogy of Riesling is awesome for summer drinking. Look for wines from Alsace in France and Mosul in Germany, a lot of great wines can be found for under $20. If your comfort level won't allow you to stray from Chardonnay, at least do yourself a favor and buy Chablis (not the box or jug) Actual Chablis from the region of its name is the Chardonnay grape, but without all the oak. Domestically, find a chardonnay that says 'un-oaked' on the label.
Blue. Well, you've got me there. I'm not going to suggest a blueberry wine or even Blue Nun, I guess the blue in our little blog here will have to be beef, as in grilled meat. The wines mentioned above are mid-range in acidity, so pair with a meat with lower fat content. Ground bison for burgers are a wonderful change from beef, as is turkey.
Happy 4th of July everyone! Eat Well. Live Fit. and Have FUN!