The weather is warming up here, we had our first 80 degree day, and a nice little stretch of sunny weather. That, to me, means it is time to pull out the white wines. Now yes, I know there are those who adamantly believe that it is a wine’s duty to be red, but I am not one of them. Spring and summer are white wine weather for this girl.
Few things are as decadently wonderful as a nicely chilled glass of Viognier or Pinot Gris sipped on a sunny deck. Nothing is as incredible as a good rose of Pinot Noir on a day like today. There is a reason I refer to Sokol Blosser’s rose as summer in a glass! A crisp, slightly off-dry non-red wine is filled with the taste of summer fruits; the green apple, the melon, the citrus undertones; it is the adult version of eating big, cold, juice slabs of watermelon by the pool. Granted, it is missing the joy of seed spitting that often ensued. Then again, nothing has stopped me from spitting cherry pits out of the car well after the age when such things are, well, expected. But I digress…
Today I opened a bottle of Dobbes Viognier. I sat with my feet up, a book in hand, windows wide open and just enjoyed the evening. I would have sat on my deck, but currently I have no chairs there and it has been taken over by a fairly industrious spider (who has spun a web directly in the center of the deck, an impressive feat of engineering that I can’t quite make myself destroy at this point). The breeze through the flat, the sun, the coolness of the wine, it made for a pretty spectacular late afternoon.
As a result, a couple of bottles of rose have been added to the fridge, a pair of Pinot Blancs, an organic Chardonnay; all are chilling in anticipation of the onset of a warm summer ahead. The reds are nicely tucked away, waiting for a cool night, a perfect meal, maybe even the fall. Because right now it is white wine weather. Right now it is time to experiment with sangria made from Albarino and apples. Right now it is about Prosecco or Cava for a Sunday morning Bellini with white peaches. Right now it is about a nice rose with a grilled bread salad. I’m looking forward to the next few months, to the heat and the sun and wine whose duty it is to be straw pale and pink. Because around here? In wine country? Summer is often found in a glass.