7 Best Summer Wines from the iBBQ Team
Summer is fleeting and so are the best summer wines once the pouring begins on a balmy evening. I quizzed the iBBQ team about their favorite bottles of vino to enjoy while congregating around their Angara grill tables.
Go red! The best summer wines come in all colors.
Best Summer Wines
"I love Chauteau D'Esclans Whispering Angel Rosé in the summer. It's always the first drink to go at our summer BBQs!" - Heather Burton
Chauteau D'Esclans touts it as "reputedly the world's best rosé ." Shop for it on Winesearcher.com
Champagne is always a festive - or romantic choice - for a celebration or intimate dinner.
"In the Summer I love a glass of Chandon Brut Classic with ONE cherry-apple juice ice cube... sort of a twist on a classic rosé OR Honig Winery's Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc, for a heavy fruity taste." - Jennifer Telitz
Chandon describes their Brut Classic in tantalizing terms: It "consistently expresses our signature flavor profile of apple, pear and citrus flavors and aromas with a hint of spice that leads to a soft, dry finish."
Honig Winery's Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc: "A pale straw wine with medium-body, full acidity, and straightforward fruit flavors. Mildly oaked, showing herbs and citrus on the palate." Shop for it on Totalwine.com.
"My favorite rosé wines for the summer are Miraval and Summer Water." - Lauren Maslauski.
For those who pick wine by pretty labels (me), Miraval is the winner! Summer Water is hard to resist with this alluring description: "It's more than the rosé of the season, it's a state of mind - every drop full of pink-tinted possibility. Dry, light and perfectly crisp - with notes of strawberry, pink grapefruit and white peach."
Cheers to a refreshing rosé in the summer time.
Inniskillen Niagara Estate Series Pinot Noir Rosé "A crisp and refreshing rosé made from a pinot noir grape, so it's not as sweet as a typical rosé . This is an obvious pick as two iBBQ team members are from the Niagara area, which grows great grapes and great women." - Jill Johnson.
An iBBQ fan submitted this fave: Jean-Paul Brun Domaine des Terres Dorees Fleurie 2015.
Winemaker notes: "The grapes for Fleurie are de-stemmed, then fermented and aged in burgundian oak barrels. The resulting wine offers deep aromas of black cherries, raw cocoa, pomegranate, intense violets, woodsmoke and plenty of fresh thyme. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, plush and very pure, with great depth of fruit at the core, lovely soil tones, modest tannins and simply superb length and grip on the focused and palate-staining finish." Shop for this sure-fire summer party pleaser on Wine.com.
Bonus Tip for the Beer Drinkers
"I am not much of a wine drinker; I always enjoy it, but I've never really gotten into it to the point of being able to know what I'm talking about. My substitute would be the Saint Archer White Ale. It's a super refreshing beer with wonderful flavor, and it goes great with any summer bbq. If that isn't a strong enough sales pitch, my fiancé and I are also serving it at our wedding in a month. It's one of our favorite local San Diego beers!" - Daniel Pyke
Watch for iBBQ's scoop on the Best Beers to Pair with a Great Burger - coming this fall. And for the dessert enthusiasts, Stephen Raichlen's Recipe for Cinnamon Grilled Peaches, exclusively for iBBQ, will go live this Thursday, right here on Barbie Q!
