Hot Weather Wines
By Kay Pfaltz
During wine tasting last week the temperature outside was in the high nineties and the temperature on the outdoor porch where we were assembled probably eighty-five. Therefore, perhaps it should not have surprised me when one of my most faithful students, who usually has no trouble tasting, or perhaps more accurately belting down, her wine, left several glasses untouched.
“I just can’t drink when it’s hot,” she said surprising me more. This got me thinking about climate and wine. And she’s right, of course. When it’s hot, the last thing we ought do is gulp wine, further dehydrating ourselves. Hot weather calls for lemonade, cold beer, iced tea and water. But wine will always be tied to food and continued to be drunk with meals, weather hot or not. And of course rarely do we really gulp, for it is wine’s nature to be sipped and savored.
Just as it makes sense when traveling to eat the food of the region, so too is it not only sensible, but also fun, to match food with climate. Apples, mushrooms, butternut squash in the fall. Stews and fondues in the winter. Fresh spinach and asparagus in the spring. And the bounty of summer fruits and veggies in summertime. While we might be able to buy strawberries from Chile year round, when we do so we lose the special joy and recognition we associate with seasonal foods, their smell and taste, in mini Proustian moments, evoking the season itself.
Likewise, for heightened gustatory pleasure we adapt wines to climate. Lighter wines for hot weather. Full-bodied, denser wines for winter.
The following are wines I’ve found to pair particularly well with hot temperatures.
Manfred Breit, Piesporter Goldtropfcher, Riesling, Kabinett, 2003 – Riesling is a great grape when the Fahrenheit climbs. This is a stunning and well made Riesling that never disappoints. It is both simple (one grape varietal) and complex (a palate of white flowers, white peaches and lychees greets you). And perfect for hot weather. Why? Low alcohol levels of 9%, unusual in today’s norm of 13.5 and 14%. Perhaps this is a turn off for some people, but in heat highly alcoholic wines should be avoided as they tend to turn flabby.
Sauvignon Blanc is another good choice for summer, because of Sauvignon’s characteristic acidity and cleanness. The following are both from Marlborough, the north end of New Zealand’s south island, famous for making exceptional Sauvignon Blanc.
Kennedy Point – Clean and crisp. Perfect balanced acidity with gooseberry fruit.
Main Divide – A bit more substance with notes of lychees, gooseberries, passion fruit and elderflower.
Barth René, Muscat –Muscat is that wonderful grape that really smells and tastes grapey rather than of some other fruit or substance! Refreshing on a hot day as it’s like eating fresh grapes. Perfect as an aperitif.
–First Published in Nelson County Life Magazine–
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