Prosecco is a sparkling wine made in the Veneto region of Italy.  Traditionally it is softer and fruitier than most Brut (dry) Champagne or sparkling wines.  A great starter for wine tastings or dinners, Prosecco is also extremely food friendly and appeals to a wide range of wine drinkers.  In all the years I have been leading wine tastings I have never met someone who does not like Prosecco!  Soft, sparkling with fruit flavors of apple, pear and citrus, Prosecco is a great summer sparkler.  What’s even better is that most quality Prosecco usually retails $20 or under.

Soave, also from Veneto, is another refresher not to miss.  The biggest challenge for this wine is overcoming it’s history.  In the 1970s the region was expanded to include some lesser vineyards and many unscrupulous producers churned out unremarkable wines.  This is the same reputation that Chianti had to overcome after the basket-bottomed days of the seventies.  It is no surprise that Soave literally translated means “smooth” since many of the best wines from this region have a rich smoothness with aromas of almond, citrus and a hint of white flowers.  Soave is named after the town it hails from rather than the grapes, Garganega and Trebbiano, which are blended to create the wine.  For the finest examples, look for Soave Classico (wines from the best Soave vineyards) or Classico Superiore (aged at least eight months before release).

If you asked sommeliers from around the country what their five favorite white wines are, you would not doubt here Grüner Veltliner over and over again.  Pronounced GROO-ner VELT-leen-er, in Europe they shorten the name and simply order a glass of GrüV (pronounced groovy).  An indigenous white grape from Austria, Grüner Veltliner, is my secret weapon at summer get togethers.  Grüner Veltliners are known for aromas of white pepper, citrus, granny smith apples with a sometimes spicy finish.  The bright fruit flavors with balancing acidity, make Grüners a great match for lots of dishes. 

It wouldn’t be summer without an ice cold brew which in many cases can be more refreshing than wine.  There are two special types of beers that are great in the summer, Pilsner and Weisse.  Pilsner or Pils is a light golden lager with a dry malty flavor typically accented with the floral flavors of hops. It is one of the most popular styles of beer in the world. Another great summer beer called Weisse (or Hefeweizen) uses malted wheat instead of barley for the main ingredient.  This beer is cloudy with a yeasty quality accented by a tart finish. Weisse is known for its spicy flavors of orange peel, banana, vanilla and believe it or not bubble gum!  To get the sweet and sour effect, these beers are sometimes served with either a lemon or an orange slice although it is not traditional or necessary to do so.

So if you need to find the perfect wine to cool you down try one of these: 

Bisol Prosecco Crede Brut NV, Veneto, Italy

Named after the soils in this region called crede, this wine has the perfect foundation for Prosecco grapes to flourish and create this amazingly fragrant, refreshing sparkler, with flavors of apple, peach and a note of floral.  This food friendly wine only has 11% alcohol—a perfect starter or brunch wine!  Retail: $18

Other brands to look for: Botter, Carpene Malvolti, Nino Franco “Rustico” or Canella

Prà Soave Classico 2006, Veneto

Looking for a great white for your next backyard gathering?  This handcrafted Soave from Prà tastes nothing like the 1970s jug versions.  Citrus fruits dominate the palate of this rich white and finishes with food friendly crispness—great paired with seafood, salads or just to get things started.  Retail: $17     

Other brands to look for: Pieropan, Anselmi, Inama or Gini

Anton Bauer “Gmörk” Grüner Veltliner 2006, Austria

A textbook Grüner Veltliner with loads of citrus fruit, granny smith apple, a touch of pepper and a crisp finish.  70% of the wine made in Austria is white and 36% of that is Grüner Veltliner, so this is their specialty.  Two of the hardest foods to pair with wine are artichokes and asparagus, Grüner Veltliner can handle both!  This food friendly white is also great with summer favorites like fried chicken, fresh seafood or spicy cuisine like Indian and Thai.  Many Grüners are coming with screw caps these days which is a plus in outdoor settings like barbeques. Retail: $12

Other brands to look for: Huber, Hirsch, Nigl or Hillinger

Hacker-Pschorr Weisse, Germany

A wheat beer from Bavaria, Hacker-Pschorr has been making beer since the early 1400s.  Bavaria introduced the world to wheat style beers.  Hazy and golden, this brew is like many of the dog days of summer.  Flavors of sourdough bread are accented by a hint of banana making this a beer a party favorite!  Hacker-Pschorr Weisse has a slight sweetness that makes it a great pairing for spicy grilled kielbasa or bratwurst.      

No wine seems more misunderstood or mistreated than Rosé.  In the red and white world of wine it seems there is no room for pink.  When did this campaign against pink begin?  Most likely it is a backlash from the California White Zinfandel craze of the 1980’s.  Light, sweet and easy to consume, it was a wine anyone could tip back.  Many a fortune was made on White Zin in those days and it still remains a favorite for quite a few wine drinkers.  The problem is that somehow pink has been condemned.  So now many pink drinkers don’t feel free to come out of the proverbial wine closet.  To confuse things even further these White Zinfandels bare no resemblance to the French Rosé that inspired them.  Fresh, crisp and dry—this is the profile of most European Rosé .  Rosé  in its true form is the perfect wine for a hot summer day whether you are nibbling on anything from salad to baked ham.  

So what accounts for our pink aversion? Maybe it is just simply the color.  Consider this; a French study in 2001 by Gil Morot concluded that our perceptions of wine and its flavors or aromas are prejudiced by its color.  It turns out our brains are prone to unconscious synaesthesia where our senses become confused.  In this study, participants tasted a white wine and described melons, honey and citrus.  The same wine was then colored red and participants perceived things like berries, leather and tar, which are common aromas in red wine.  Given this unconscious phenomenon, along with our eighties memories of the White Zinfandel that color our thoughts even before we lift the glass to our lips.

Given that summer is the absolute perfect time for a glass of Rosé it makes sense to turn a blind eye to its appearance.  Try this exercise; close your eyes and imagine the flavors of watermelon, luscious strawberries, or a ripe peach.  Now think of the refreshing factor you get from a crisp white wine like a Spanish Albariño or Sauvignon Blanc.  Put those together—luscious fruit with a refreshing crisp finish.  That is traditional Rosé.   

Now that we are comfortable thinking pink it make sense to review the ways Rosé gets its color. One way is to blend white and red wines making it, of course, pink!  Another is to leave the grape juice in contact with the red grape skins for a short period of time, whereby only receiving minimal color.  Most people are surprised to learn that in fact all grape juice is virtually clear.  It is only this skin contact that makes a wine from red grapes truly red.  The third method called Saignée, which in French literally means to bleed.  During red wine fermentation the skins of the red grapes are working to create the red shades we admire in our Pinots or Cabernets.  Before the coloring is complete some of the wine is bled off early resulting in a lighter shade of red that I might dare to call pink.

If you are ready to start trying some great Rosé you’ll be happy to know that it is made all over the world.  The south of France is probably the region we most associate with Rosé .  Provence has formed an identity from this pink drink and areas in the Loire, Rhone Valley and Bordeaux also produce their versions of Rosé  from the red grapes they are best known for.  Some of the most exciting Rosé s of late come from Spain and believe it or not Greece.  Not to be outdone some US winemakers going beyond White Zinfandel to include dry pink wines in their portfolio.  

Once you have found a Rosé that you want to savor, don’t forget that its food friendliness is one of its best qualities.  Its fuller body allows it to handle food pairings that might overwhelm a white.  Crisp acidity ensures that it can withstand dishes with a good amount of salt and dishes that use acidic ingredients like vinegars or goat cheese.  Some of the natural partners for dry Rosé include appetizers, salads, seafood, white meats, ham and even dishes with a bit of spiciness.  Sauces that include garlic, tomatoes or olives are also no problem for a crisp Rosé. 

As things heat up this summer and you want the refreshing coolness of white wine with the fabulous flavors of red wine, then give Rosé a chance!  It’s easy to do.  Close your eyes if you need to and take a big sip.  You’ll soon forget everything you knew about Rosé in the 80’s.  It is time to stop judging Rosé strictly by its color.  Remember the lesson you were taught as a kid—don’t judge a book by its cover or a wine by its color. It’s what is inside the bottle that counts!