You can already feel the warm air caressing your cheeks, and that means spring is here, and summer is around the corner! For wine lovers, this is an great time of the year when wine is more than a drink; it’s the perfect way to stay fresh and thirst-quenched.
With so many types of wine, made in a myriad of styles and dozens of distinct grapes, it’s easy to see there’s wine for every occasion and time of the year. With this in mind, here are the perfect wines for spring and early summer!
1. Rosé, Always in Vogue
Rosé is the quintessential summer wine; it’s just what you want to drink poolside or with your feet buried in the warm sand. It’s just so refreshing, mouthwatering, and chick! What’s not to love? Try dry rose for the best experience, and it doesn’t matter where it comes from or the grapes used to make it, just go with rosé, and you can’t go wrong.
Food pairings: grilled sausages, roasted poultry, shrimp, and lobster
2. Bubbles!
Sparkling wine is lovely all-year-round, but it shines best in warm evenings. Fizzy wine has a high acidity, which is quite refreshing, and it’s also better enjoyed ice cold — just what you want on warm summer days. You need not spend much to find a nice bottle of sparkling wine, Prosecco is fantastic, and it’s pretty inexpensive!
Food pairings: Fried finger food, coconut shrimp, oysters, sushi and sashimi
3. Vermentino, An Italian Classic
Vermentino but also any other dry, crisp and refreshing white wine, including Sauvignon Blanc, Albariño and Grüner Veltliner, are fantastic spring wines. They’re made to quench your thirst. Serve these chilled and enjoy their vibrant fruitiness and enticing minerality. For this wine style, the younger, the better, and they’re often on the cheap side as well.
Food pairings: Fresh cheese, light salads, white fish, and steamed veggies
4. Riesling, Floral and Beautifully Sweet
Riesling can be sweet or bone dry, and both renditions are pretty nice under the sun. The pleasurable floral scents, the peach aromas and the high acidity make this cold-weather variety fantastic for drinking on its own — it’s versatile at the table, too! See if you can find in your glass that signature petrol aroma reminiscent of new tennis balls; it’s thrilling!
Food pairings: Asian stir-fries, sweet and sour sauces, fruit salads, mango sticky rice, and freshly chucked oysters.
5. Pinot Noir, Liquid Silk
Pinot Noir is a well-rounded grape. It’s best known for its thrilling acidity and silken palate — that’s just what you want in spring and early summer, a cherry-scented young Pinot with a vibrant personality. Enjoy this one slightly chilled on a wide wine glass.
Food pairings: Fatty fish like tuna, salmon, mackerel and sardines. Fried rice, roasted poultry and pork
6. Beaujolais, Young and Cheery
French winemakers release this seasonal specialty every November. Still, the Gamay-based wine peaks in early spring, where its uncomplicated fruitiness and lovely, sweet aromatics mirror the year’s first blossoming flowers. Often called a baby Pinot Noir, Beaujolais is also enjoyed slightly chilled, making it perfect for the warm weather.
Food pairings: Teriyaki sauce, sticky ribs, grilled meat skewers, eel, fruit tarts and fresh fruit
Wrapping It Up: Lively And Fruity, That’s The Secret Behind Spring Wines
This warm-season, celebrate wine’s fruitiness and vibrancy. Leave robust, contemplative wine styles for the harshest winter months. Summer is all about having fun and spending time with the ones you love. What better way than sharing a bottle of lively and fruity wine with the ones close to you?