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Wines for Warm Weather

As summer heat turns us away from warm red wines, it's time to take stock of our many options.

Related Recipe Collection

BBQ & Grilling Recipes

Wine Tips for Picnics and Barbeques

Consider screwcapped bottles. They're convenient to open, convenient to close back up and pop back in the cooler.
Rosés go with just about anything you can throw on the grill, and you serve them cold!
Syrah and Zinfandel are classic barbeque wines. And don't be afraid to throw them in the fridge or a cooler to bring them down in temperature a few degrees.
Drink lots of water along with your wine. It’s even more important in the hot weather.

Grilled Lamb Recipes

Try these lamb recipes paired with rosé. Or, on a hot day, toss a Zinfandel into the fridge for about 20 minutes to bring down the temperature just a few degrees.

Grilled Pork Recipes

With grilled pork, you can't go wrong with rosé. If you're not feeling pink, Zinfandel, Syrah, or Chianti will also serve you well.

Grilled Seafood

With these recipes, try a nicely chilled Chardonnay or rosé. With the grilled salmon, a slightly cooled-down Pinot Noir should be delicious.

There's a whole other world of wines ready to pull us through the summer heat, including a few lighter reds that are easy to overlook.

White Wines

There's just no getting around it, summer is white wine time. So why fight it? The fact is, whites go great with a wide range of summer foods, from cold salads to barbecued salmon. Here are just a few whites to try this summer.

Albariño: A Spanish white, albariño is refreshing and typically low in alcohol (great for afternoon barbecues). Try it with grilled seafood, shellfish, spicy seafood dishes, grilled shrimp
Chardonnay: grilled chicken, turkey burgers with avocado; crab; grilled salmon, halibut, shrimp, or lobster; fried catfish
Sauvignon Blanc: Perfect with fried chicken, vegetables, summer salads, salsa (particularly with cilantro) and Tex-Mex dishes, grilled white fish, grilled pork, grilled salmon

Pink Wines

Fear of rosé wine is a common malady afflicting American males. Like many fears, roséphobia is irrational. Rosés, after all, are made from red grapes. The difference is that with pink wines the grape juice is run off their color-giving skins early in the process before deep color builds. Rosés end up light, fruity, and refreshing, and they take to a nice chill.

Rosés are also terrific food wines. There are great rosés from the South of France, Spain, Italy, California, and Washington State. They were practically made for backyard barbecues and picnics.

Rosé: grilled meats (beef and pork), barbecued ribs and burgers, grilled shrimp, grilled seafood, grilled sausages

Red Wines

It's true that reds like Syrah and Zinfandel go great with barbecue, but on a hot day who needs their additional warmth? If you just can't do without red wines and rosé just won't cut it for you, try the lighter, brighter reds, like Pinot Noir, Beaujolais, or Barbera. These wines aren't as full-bodied as Zin or Syrah, they have some nice food-friendly acidity, and you can stick them in an ice chest to cool them down just a few degrees before serving, and they still taste great!

Beaujolais: grilled meat, grilled salmon or tuna, Cheddar cheese burgers
Pinot Noir: grilled salmon or tuna, grilled meats, grilled sausages
Barbera: good barbecue, particularly pork ribs, grilled chicken, bacon cheese burgers