Summer is a great time for enjoying wine . . . but a lot of folks don't think of red in warm weather. Gourmet Magazine Wine Consultant Michael Green tells us how red wine fits with hot summer days and summer outdoor fun.
"I generally like to drink wine in the summer outdoors if the weather is great. So I try to avoid wines that are really high in alcohol. For reds, Beaujolais, Barbera, Dolcetto, . . . these are light styles of wine that don't have loads of tannin but their profile is based on really great acid - so I'll chill down these wines a little bit.
All of these wines I've just mentioned rarely have alcohol content much above twelve-point-five per cent - often these wines have alcohol levels of nine percent so a second glass is imaginable and you can get right back into the pool after you've had that second glass."
Pop the cork™.
Summer Red Recommendations
Michele Chiarlo 2000 Barbera dAsti $12
Piedmont, Italy
Winemaker's Notes
Pure, ripe plum and strawberry fruit flavors underscored by a crisp acidic note and a hint of earth mark this charming
Poderi Colla 1999 Dolcetto d'Alba $16
Piedmont , Italy
Winemaker's Notes
100% Dolcetto varietal, from southwesterly exposed vines, at 270 meters above sea level. Delightfully soft and versatile
Joseph Drouhin 2001 Brouilly (Cru Beaujolais ) $15
Burgundy , France
Winemaker's Notes
One of the most famous Crus of Beaujolais and the most Southern one
Ceretto 2001 Rossana Dolcetto dAlba $20
Piedmont , Italy
Winemaker's Notes
Color: Bright ruby red.
Bouquet: Delicate aroma full of flowers
Vietti 2000 Barbera d'Asti Tre Vigne $20
Piedmont , Italy
Robert Mondavi 1999 La Famiglia Barbera $20
California
Our Barbera has vibrant fruit character and soft, velvety tannins that invite easy and early enjoyment
Prunotto 2000 Barbera d'Alba Pian Romualdo $25
Piedmont , Italy
Winemaker's Notes
Lively, ruby red in colour with violet reflexes
Ceretto 1999 Barbera D'Alba Piana $25
Piedmont , Italy
Winemaker's Notes
"Super smooth and supple, with very ripe fruit and tasty oak galore
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