With festivals, concerts, and outdoor activities on the schedule, it's a good time to sample some of the wonderfully light, cool, and fruity summertime wines available in our stores and favorite wine shops. When thinking of summer wines, there is always a rush to find the great white wines so often mentioned around this time of the year. But warmer weather also means picnics and BBQ's. So let us not overlook the delightful, lighter reds and ros s that complement anything that comes off the grill. Champagne and sparkling wines are other good choices for pairing with the subtler, less heavy foods of summer.
Different countries produce their own fine quality, sparkling wines.
Italy, Spain, Australia, and North America, especially California, lead the field in the last few years with admirable production of sparkling wines made in the methode champenoise or methode traditionelle. Some experts feel this particular process of double fermentation in the same bottle is what gives these sparkling wines their distinctive taste and unique qualities. Cheaper and more common methods can be used, but do not produce the finer, more fragile, tiny bubbling sparkling wines. Highly rated and at bargain prices, champagne and sparkling wines are to be relished now. Do not hold on to them.