Summer wines
The heat is on, so what wine should you chose to chill out?

IT’S HOT!!! It‘s really hot. Summer is well and truly upon us. Preparations for vacations have finally been completed and everyone is about to leave for those destinations that, hopefully, will give relaxing and tranquil moments. This is what is expected by the ones who decided to spend their summer somewhere else or can afford vacation time. For all of us wine lovers, hopefully there will be a little bit good of good wine, no matter what was decided about how and where to spend summertime. Even if we are staying in Cyprus, we wine lovers do not forget, despite of the warm temperature, about the pleasure that a good wine can give.

It is a fact that on summer days most people prefer cool beverages, those that can promise, with their inviting temperature, a relief from the torments of the heat. Even food, quite rightly, gets adapted to the needs of summertime. During this period, foods made of vegetables, usually fresh salads are showing up on our tables, condiments get less heavy, the cooking of foods gets simpler and lighter. Red wines, in particular the full-bodied and ‘important’ ones usually matched with elaborate and rich foods are being replaced by lighter wines. In this season there is an increasing consumption of white and sparkling wine, mainly because they are served at low temperatures and therefore they are more appealing.

Summer wines, then, are traditionally white wines that are easy to drink by themselves and work well with the fresh, lighter foods we tend to eat in hotter months. Good white wines for the summer should have enough flavour to be in balance with the acidity level and to be crisp enough to handle a variety of foods. However, they are served at too low temperatures, therefore losing, at these low temperatures, their best characteristics, in particular aromas, attenuated or annihilated by the rigid cold of refrigerators. Sparkling wines, with their joyous and vivid effervescence, seem to quench thirst and give more satisfaction during the hot summer days, generally best preferred as aperitifs. Summertime effervescent beverages are the more successful ones.

Xinisteri grapes, the classic Cyprus varietal, are at their best with still enough acidity to balance a range of flavours including lemon, asparagus, olive oil, feta cheese, salads and fried or grilled fish. Most xinisteri-based wines are dry – no residual sugar – slightly fruity, crispy, and light to medium bodied. Prices are reasonable; therefore a logical first choice is Cyprus xinisteri. And visitors to Greece can enjoy the violet aromas and perfumes of the indigenous grape variety of Peloponnese – Moschofilero. This light wine is one of the best aperitif wines and can be a good companion for light lunches.
Elsewhere, the classic German varietal Riesling produces wines that have sufficient acidity to balance with a range of flavours including lemon, peach and apricot. Most Rieslings are dry, but they are fruity enough to appear to be sweet wines. Riesling styles range from pale and very crisp to more golden and full-bodied. German wines tend to be sweeter and new-world Rieslings span the spectrum. Most importantly, Riesling pairs with an assortment of foods, even complementing grilled meats.

Another popular white wine during summer is Sauvignon Blanc. In fact summer is synonymous to this grape variety. This wine has good acidity, usually with citrus or green apple notes and mineral or ‘grassy’ undertones. Look for wines with a good balance of fruit and mineral flavours as they tend to be the most interesting wines. Sauvignon Blancs are perfect with seafood, vegetables and lighter foods, such as salads.

Rounding out the suggestions are Pinot Grigio (Italian) and Pinot Gris (French) wines. Be careful, they can be watery and insipid, but there are plenty with a delightful crisp and fruity taste – perfect for sipping on a hot summer’s day. In terms of food, these varietals do not pair well with anything too heavy. They are a great beverage on their own, as a refresher, and with less assertive cheeses, salads, and seafood.

As mentioned at the beginning, even though at this period red wines are usually forgotten there is another style of wine which is forgotten as well and that could be very pleasing and fresh, certainly suited for summertime and not only in this season: rose wines. These types of wine have always been penalised because they are between the most common style of wines, usually referred as real wines, whites and reds, and for this season they are probably never considered, indeed, they often are, unjustly, defined as low quality wines worth little interest. Rarely people remember about rose wines: it is true, they are not whites or reds, they are rose, but they are however indisputably wines. Rose wines have unique and proper characteristics that make them perfectly suited for being between whites and reds, when a white wine is not enough and a red wine is simply too much. Rose wine offers the right solution that can be adapted to many circumstances – for instance a meze in a tavern. Moreover they are wines usually consumed young, when they can express a pleasing crispiness and fragrance of aromas, they can be served cool, sometimes at the usual temperatures of white wines. So, why not remember these wines in the summer? Rose wines are perfect also with many dishes made of fish, in particular soups and roasts. Try red-grape-based roses from Grenache and Cabernet Sauvignon.
If it is true that reds are temporarily forgotten during summertime, it is also true that not all reds are the same. Generally, when one thinks about red wines, the common idea is to think about full-bodied wines, robust and thick, nevertheless there are so many red berried grapes that produce light wines, with little tannins and very pleasing to drink, particularly in summertime. As with rose wines, these wines can be served at low temperatures, certainly not like white wines, however at temperatures that will surely be pleasing in hot days. As with rose wines, these types of wine are forgotten, the personality of great red wines making them appear lesser wines. Try Italy’s Valpolicella and Beaujolais from France.