Summer Wines, Part 1
Two white wines that are perfect for poolside and the beach.
Well, summer has started on the Gulf Coast. I am going to weather geek-out here: Summer officially starts for me when the wind shifts to be predominantly southern. That means the wind, most of the time, blows from the Gulf of Mexico. Every day is mostly humid and night time temps no longer get below 70F.
It’s okay! That just means it’s time to really pop open those light and refreshing wines. Beach, pool, warm evenings out with friends. Here are two picks to get your wine summer off to a good start.
The first is from New Zealand. Mohua Sauvignon Blanc. If you were lucky enough to go to Seville Quarter’s wine tasting this past Tuesday then you would have been able to speak to the wine maker himself, which is always a rewarding occasion. This wine was bright with a refreshing essence of grapefruit and acid and is right at home poolside.
The next was a Sparking Wine from the Loire Valley of France; Gratien & Meyer Cremant de Loire Brut. This wine was featured during Aragon’s Cru wine tasting on Thursday. Tight and intense bubbles that gave a very nice long finish with hints of orange and honey. Not sweet (it’s a Brut!), this Sparkling would be fantastic as the wine to greet your friends with as you start dinner.
Ready or not summer on the Gulf Coast is here. Serve cold and enjoy!
Go to the “Special” Wine tastings!
Aragon’s Special tasting featuring Henri Bourgeois Winery, 7 March 2023.
I have said it before in previous posts: If you see a “Special” wine event, especially if it is a tasting featuring someone from a winery, do your best to go! These are not events to be afraid of! You are not going to be ridiculed, you do not need to “know” wine, these “Special” events are just plain fun! Most of them are during the week, which can be difficult, but if I can give any recommendation in the world of wine it is to go to the special tastings.Aragon’s Special wine tasting was on Tuesday, not on their normal Thursday. If you are having trouble keeping track of wine events look no further to OUR wine tastings and events calendar! And if you know of an event that is not on our calendar please let us know, you can email us or send us a message on Instagram and we will update our calendar.So back to wine. Aragon featured Famille Bourgeois Winery this past Tuesday. Famille Bourgeois has vineyards in the Sancerre Region, in the Loire Valley of France; and in the Marlborough Wairau Valley of New Zealand, specializing in Sauvignon Blanc in both areas. Their wines are certified “Biodynamic” which is the E.U.’s organic certification, but actually better. People like to lump things together; like all Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand tastes like Grapefruit. It happens all the time, to everything, not just wine. It is human nature, and it can very quickly lead to “bold wine statements” (see my post on bold wine statements). Their two wine families, Domaine Henri in France, and Clos Henri in New Zealand, were a great example of how you cannot just lump things together. We even started the tasting with the reds because the whites were so high in acid (something they intentionally did) that if we did the whites first your palate could have been toasted by the time you got to the reds. All of the wines tonight were unique and almost everyone enjoyed almost everything. So hopefully we will see you at the next “Special” tasting!