What We're Drinking in Late Summer

Everyone in the wine world jumps at the chance to tell you what they're drinking at the onset of Spring, those first few weeks of Summer, as soon as Fall rolls in, or as we approach the festive Winter holidays in December. Those are big times of year for us in the business. They mark changes in drinking habits, new wines arriving from overseas, or pivotal selling windows that can often times make or break a wine business' year.

That's not necessarily the case of late Summer, August in particular. Whether it's because of people fitting in their last vacations before school starts or trying to settle down after an active Memorial Day through July 4th window...many people let this time of year go by without talking about what makes it such a great time to be drinking wine.

We're not going to follow suit. Like I said, it's a great time of year to be drinking wine. On the shore, in the city, doesn't matter. Check out what wines are tickling our fancy these days!

For Staying in the City - Will's Picks

There's something really special about being in the city while it feels like everyone (coughcough James coughcough) is by a pool, on the beach, or out in the woods. Not that I don't love traveling, but August is a time in New York where it feels like I can travel through a bottle of wine and snatch up last minute reservations at my favorite restaurants, hit Broadway on a school night, and walk on my Brooklyn sidewalks without shoulder-checking hundreds of people every Saturday morning.

It's also one of my favorite times of the year for eating. The sweet corn, hot peppers, and luscious heirloom tomatoes are really kicking into high gear right about now. What's better than a BLT and a bottle of chilled red? For that chilled red, my mind goes to the Garnacha 'Invader' 2024 from Matias Riccitelli.

We were lucky enough to host Matias for a wine dinner earlier this summer and while I knew James loved the wines, it was really my first time going through the whole lineup. Completely against the grain for what I typically associate with Argentinian wine. There are too many wines that when you hear people call them 'fresh' or 'vibrant' it's really just code for light and simple. That ain't the case with Matias. The wines are packed with energy, loaded with flavor. And to me, that's exactly the kind of thing I like to drink (and eat) right about now.

It's the kind of wine you can pop with a friend while sitting at the park or over a long leisurely lunch and thoughtlessly pop bottle number two without feeling guilty.

I'm also very much in my homemade salsa era these days. When market is loaded with beautiful peppers and sweet corn, that's when I get down to business. Salsas for tacos, hot relishes for grilled meats, charred main course accoutrements on their own...my mind goes crazy when I see them. While the traditional call out for pairing wine to spicy food is something with a bit of sugar (J.J. Prüm comes to mind), I often default to Chenin.

Domaine du Collier is my go-to here, so much so that James and I decided to throw a wine dinner at Popina featuring these wines in a couple weeks. Antoine Foucault's Cabernet Francs are seriously underrated but of course, I'm all about the wines made from Chenin Blanc. Great Chenins showcase everything I love in wine: intensity of flavor, a balance of textural richness and zippiness, alongside a mineral-tinge that keeps me coming back sip after sip. I should savor these wines for much, much longer than I do.

But wine's made to be drunk, y'know? 

For Lounging on the Shore - James' Picks

Summer in NYC is amazing; but I have a soft spot for summers on the Jersey Shore. Turns out when you bring good wine to your friends house--you keep getting invited back. Will asked me to contribute to the blog this week; so here we are--just off the beach ready for my first drink. 

My friends, now family, have been renting a house down here for years and i've been lucky enough to join them for the past 8 years or so. What started out as 2-3 nights has turned into a full week. There was 9 adults. I brought twelve magnums and twelve 750s ranging from champagne, rosé, nebbiolo, and of course a few bottles of white burgundy. 

It's only day three, so we have plenty of work to do, but here were a few bottles that overdelivered. 

Amorotti Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo: By now you know I'm obsessed with wine from Abruzzo --especially Cerasuolo. The wines are super versatile and offer unbeatable value. Speaking of dinners, we're opening all of our favorite Abruzzo wines in a couple weeks! Come hang out.

Laherte Freres Ultradition NV: What's better than a bottle of champagne? A magnum of champagne. We always kick off the week down the shore with an epic aperitivo spread, so it's important to have plenty of bubbles. 

Tiberio Pecorino Colline Pescaresi 2024: This wine is made for the jersey shore. Throw it in the cooler for the beach/boat or save it for the seafood feast. Either way--you'll be very pleased.