Best wines for summer barbecues and parties

It’s always tricky, working out when to recommend wines for hot, summer days, when so often summer itself can be a slippery concept. Nevertheless, the schools have broken up, the Olympics loom: the calendar points to summer, regardless of what the weather might be doing.

Don’t be afraid of the fridge for reds

Refreshment is a key aspect of wines for drinking at any time, but never more so than on a hot day. Don’t be afraid to chill any red wine for a short while (say 30 mins) before serving it. Reds are generally designed to be drunk at rather less than modern room temperature, and much less than the ambient temperature on a warm day, so a quick chill will make it both more refreshing and bring out the more delicate flavours.

Fizz

Le Monferrine Asti DOCG - £5.50 at Morrison’s

Here’s a guilty pleasure. It’s sweet, it’s fizzy, with a rich grapey flavour that you can serve really chilled to go with picnic-y fruit puddings…or instead of.

Cava Juvé & Camps Selección Reserva 2013 - £11.49 from Waitrose

I’m the first to admit that I’m not a huge Cava fan, but I have a soft spot for this producer, renowned for ageing their Cavas for longer (much longer than the law dictates) on the lees – over 24 months in this case. Apple and citrus fruits combine on the palate, which has lovely freshness.

White

If refreshment is what you’re after, then two white wine styles readily spring to mind: Chablis and Sauvignon Blanc.

Chablis William Fèvre “La Maladière” 2013 - £13.49 mix six price at Majestic

This is “proper” Chablis. Fresh, light and incisive, but in no way short of flavour. It’s not so much about the lemon and green apple fruit as the texture and feel of the wine. This will quench any thirst.

Dog Point Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2015 - £13.50 from The Wine Society; £15.50 from Winedirect; £19.99 from Laithwaite’s; also available at independent merchants

This Sauvignon Blanc has developed a dedicated fan base – and with good reason. At a comparative tasting of Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs earlier this year, Dog Point stood out as the most classic expression of the style. It has expressive but balanced flavours, with grapefruit and white pepper.

Rosé

Pure de Mirabeau Côtes de Provence Rosé 2015 - £12.99 from Waitrose

A quintessential Provence rosé, yet it is made by Brit abroad, Stephen Cronk. This is delightfully pale in colour, light and elegant, but with body and flavour. A delight for a sunny evening. Rosés are a great match for all manner of salads, coping admirably with the sharp/oily combination of vinaigrette dressings.

M Signature Champagne Rosé - £20 at Morrison’s

Sometimes you just have to have Champagne and, to capture the spirit of summer, it also has to be pink. You can quickly empty your wallet on rosé Champagne, but here’s one that’s more friendly to those of us who are more flash than cash. Morrison’s own label Champagnes are both good value and classy and this rosé would make a lovely accompaniment to nibbles/smoked salmon and the like.

Red

Waitrose Southern French Grenache 2015 - £6.49 from Waitrose

Hardly an inspiring name for a wine, but this is well suited to a summer barbecue with its ripe, sweet-tasting fruit. I would definitely give this a quick blast in the fridge before cracking it open on a warm evening.

Recchia Bardolino 2015 - £7.99 from Waitrose

Bardolino is a hugely unfashionable style of red wine: pale red colour that is almost rosé and with very light body. Often in the mass produced versions it can also mean sharp acidity and an unappealing weediness. But this, with its pale ruby colour and soft, cherryish fruit is just made for summer picnics. In other words, a perfect summer red.

Chablis and culture shock in Italy

This week the two Heathers have been dipping their toes in culture – and getting culture shock – all in the pursuit of their love of wine.

Heather Aitken
So there I was in the Royal Opera House Covent garden, soaking up the atmosphere from under a crystalline chandelier. The cast – mostly French - were singing the praises of the star of the show, that well-known and ancient export from northern Burgundy – Chablis.

The first time the wine Chablis was recorded was 312AD, so it has been around a very long time. It is made purely from the Chardonnay grape variety grown on limestone soil formed in the Kimmerigian period, which retains a wealth of fossilized oyster shells from this upper Jurassic era. This soil imparts the acidity and the sun gives the balance of the fruitiness to the wine. There is a village in Dorset called Kimmeridge which is well known by geologists for its rich fossil finds but to my knowledge this area does not produce wine.

The Chablis symposium was held in magnificent splendour and we the delegates were talked and tasted through Petit to Grand Cru.....little to big quite literally, that is French vineyard speak! As they say “it’s a hard job but someone’s got to do it!”

It is worth noting here that the word “symposium” , now taken to mean some sort of educational teaching and discourse, actually comes from the Greek word sympotein which translates “to drink together”, so very apt in this instance. Next time your partner says that he or she is going to be late home as they are at a symposium - take it that they are in the pub!

After the symposium there was the opportunity to talk with the growers and exporters of Chablis and the chance to try the often distinctly different styles of this wine. I learnt that the four appellations of Chablis, Petit Chablis, Chablis, Chablis Premier Cru and Chablis Grand Cru are grouped around the river Serein, with arguably the best wine found on the right bank. Within these appellations there are distinctive differences in taste and longevity.

Maud Manfredini –Mullard (doesn’t sound French to me) of Lamblin & Fils was very informative and in her opinion Petit Chablis is at its best at 2 years old, Chablis at 5 years old, Premier Cru 6 to 8 years and the Grand Cru 15 maximum. Some people will tell you that these wines will last for longer, but they would have to be of exceptional vintage.

Daniel Etienne Defaix owns one of the most ancient estates in Chablis and his first claim to fame is that the Romans regarded this stretch of land so highly that they built a road around it rather than crossing it in a straight line as was their usual practice! His more recent claim to fame is that he supplies many Michelin restaurants such as the Roux brothers with his wines

Biodynamics is the new buzz word for natural methods of cultivation, really a throw back to the ways our ancestors observed. In a nutshell, plants are treated with only natural products such as cow manure and medicinal plants, and as much as possible the rhythms of the solar system are followed to perform certain tasks. The idea is to be in harmony with nature. Well I’m all for it as Joseph Drouhin has produced some magnificent quality wines which have benefited enormously from this old, but newly re-instigated practice.

Finally and most importantly a quick word on the compatibility of the different types of Chablis with food. Petit Chablis is perfect with aperitifs and goes wonderfully well with Chevre, goats cheese. Chablis is great with seafood and fish, and also complements swiss cheese and mature cheddar. Chablis Premier Cru can accompany chicken dishes, ham and is renowned for being the perfect foil for the famous Burgundian cheese Epoisses. Chablis Grand Cru works well with creamy dishes, but as it is a special wine it really deserves to be drunk with its equals – foie gras and lobster.

Life is short, enjoy its pleasures. To quote that famous poet, Anon, “Life is too short to drink bad wine”!


Alto Adige – It’s Italy, but not as we know it….
Heather Dougherty
While Heather A was getting cultural at the Royal Opera House, I was jetting off to what I thought was Italy. Well we landed in Verona, that’s definitely Italian, no problem there. But after a two hour drive north, we were in the Italian Dolomites in the region that is officially known as either Alto Adige, or Südtirol – and there lies the clue.

Most people here are native German speakers (though they are all bi-lingual); the scenery is most definitely Alpine; I spotted men in Lederhosen; our welcome address was outside in the cold and dark because “it’s good for the heart”. I put it to you m’lud, that Alto Adige is not Italian at all, but a long lost bit of Austria.

This most northerly part of Italy borders Austria and clearly has much in common with that country – indeed it was part of the Austrian Empire until as recently as 1919. I went to bed feeling rather confused.

The next day dawned and there were the mountains – but equally, I spotted fig trees, cypresses and the odd olive tree. They may be gearing up for the ski season now, but in the summer this place can be hotter than Rome…maybe it is Italy after all.

The wines are a fascinating mix of those Alpine and Mediterranean cross currents – mostly white, clean and crisp, but with a sense of warmth and ripeness to the fruit. Look out for Pinot Grigio with character and shape, the usually overlooked Pinot Bianco, stunning Gewurtraminers and occasionally thrilling Rieslings. They even take Müller-Thurgau seriously here – the grape forever damned for its part in creating lolly-water Liebfraumilch. You might also find a smattering of Pinot Nero (aka Pinot Noir) reaching the UK.