Global News Host Carolyn and I chatted about great summer wines yesterday to please your palate and keep your cool.
Here are the wines we featured:
Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc
Nobilo Regional Collection Sauvignon Blanc
Cave Spring Cellars CSV Riesling
Cave Spring Cellars Estate Bottled Cave Spring Vineyard Pinot Noir
Ruffino Ducale Riserva Chianti Classico
Clos du Bois Rouge
Alamos Malbec
McWilliams Wines JJ McWilliam Shiraz Cabernet
Video: These Summer Wines Will Surprise Your Taste Buds
Carolyn: Natalie Maclean is the editor of nataliemaclean.com, one of Canada’s largest wine review sites. So safe to say, she knows a thing or two about vino. Natalie joins me now with some tips to pick the best summertime wine. So it’s safe to say there’s such a thing as summertime wine?
Natalie: It is. It’s not just marketing hype.
Carolyn: Good to hear.
Natalie: If you think about your wine wardrobe, so to speak. The weather is warmer, we want something refreshing; often it’s a white wine that’s chilled or red wine that’s not too heavy. In the winter, you know our bodies naturally adapt by eating a lot heavier meals to keep ourselves warm. In the summer, we drink more water to bring our body temperature down. So you’re looking at lighter wines for the same reason.
Carolyn: This one is a Rosé.
Natalie: Okay, yes.
Carolyn: So many people say, “Oh! Another Rosé.”It took me going to Napa to discover a lovely Rosé.
Natalie: Yes, absolutely and you can forget that image from the 1970s. That gives us a headache or some of us don’t remember those days.
Carolyn: Well just so sweet, exactly.
Natalie: These days Rosés are bone dry and what I love about them, especially in the summer, is that you can chill them and they’re very refreshing. They’ve got a lot of the aromas of a red wine without the heavinessin terms of the oak and the alcohol … perfect for the patio or the dock.
Carolyn: You mention the patio and you mention the dock and we eat foods in all of these places.
Natalie: Yes.
Carolyn: Pairing is very important.
Natalie: It is. It’s critical and I’m going to open this Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand… low alcohol and very zesty. I call it salad and a glass. It pairs well with salads and seafood and fresh summer fair that we like to enjoy when it’s really warm. I want you to give this a try.
Carolyn: So that’s for salads, for seafood – Sauvignon Blanc.
Natalie: We have Nobilo here from Kim Crawford. Also, there’s a zesty white wine from Niagara. It’s a Cave Spring Riesling. But basically what you get is a lot of ‘fresh’.
Carolyn: Sorry, I need to do a cheers!
Natalie: Okay.
Carolyn: I never forget a cheers.
Natalie: Alright.
Carolyn: That’s very nice.
Natalie: Yes, absolutely! So you can imagine this going with lighter fair as opposed to a heavy, oaky Chardonnay.
Carolyn: Right.
Natalie: Which would be more of a winter, sweater weather kind of a wine.
Carolyn: We’ve talked about salads for seafood. Let’s turn up the grill…
Natalie: Sure.
Carolyn: … and talk about the barbeque.
Natalie: So, this is when you want your big Reds. Think about the chary, smoky flavours of grilled meats or grilled vegetables. You’re looking for those same flavours and heft in your red wine… so something like an Argentine Malbec at just $13.95. You don’t have to spend a bundle. So, this is going to pair well with hamburgers, steaks, anything you cook on the grill.
Carolyn: We talked about this earlier in one of the commercial breaks. Malbec is great. It is a lovely, lovely wine.
Natalie: It is.
Carolyn: There was one, sometime ago, that just went off the shelves. It was a lovely tasting wine and it was so affordable.
Natalie: Yes it was $7.97 and it sold out. A wine like Alamos from Catena is $13.97. I was looking for those bargains that taste twice as expensive as they cost. So, to me you get a real deal here and again, it’s great for the barbeque.
Carolyn: So it is possible for people who are thinking, “Oh No, I have to spend a ton of money to have a really good wine.” You don’t.
Natalie: No, you don’t. Even a Pinot Noir from Niagara, or a Shiraz from Australia are really solid values.More importantly, they’re easy to get into … there’s no cork.
Carolyn: Yes.
Natalie: So there’s a screw cap.
Carolyn: That helps.
Natalie: That’s helpful at the cottage when you forgot your corkscrew. These are very summer friendly, very food friendly.
Carolyn: Okay, 20 seconds, what do you think are the last point here? We could talk about glass ware and stem ware for the outdoors.
Natalie: Sure, These look real but they are plastic. You’re not going to have your fancy glassware in the backyard or at the dock or by the pool where they can break.
Carolyn: Yes.
Natalie: You’re not pouring fancy Bordeaux. Feel free to put an ice cube in it if you want to chill it, by the way.
Carolyn: Good to know, okay.
Natalie: You have license to chill and keep your whites and even your reds in an ice bucket. We drink everything too warm in the winter and summer. Bring down the temperature and you’ll get a lift in refreshment.
Carolyn: Let’s pick up our glass and cheers to that!
Natalie: Cheers!
Carolyn: Thank you for coming in, Natalie Maclean.
Posted with permission of Global TV.
