5 Patio Wines to Welcome Spring

As the World opens up, let’s enjoy these patio and food-friendly wines.

As Winter and the 2021 “Snowmageddon” break into Spring, we dust off our patio furniture, fire up the barbeque grill, and pour a refreshing glass of wine. Warm weather begs a chilled and food-friendly glass of wine that pairs with our Spring cuisine. Consider these 5 Wine Wanderings patio wine suggestions for your Spring patio menu brought to you from around the world: France, New Zealand, Spain, and the USA.

Sauvignon Blanc and Fumé Blanc

Sauvignon Blanc placed New Zealand on the wine map for the last few decades.  It is also famous as a Sancerre in France or part of the blend of grapes in a White Bordeaux. Robert Mondavi gave Fumé Blanc its name, but basically it is a Sauvignon Blanc that has some oak and smoky influence.

Find this wine:  2020 Craggy Range Winery Te Muna Road Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc James Suckling 93 Points     $24

Tasting Notes: This wine has complex aromatics of white peach, lime, basil, and lemon blossom. Flavors of nectarine and citrus carry this refined chalky and dry finish.

Food Pairing: Cheese, green vegetables, oysters, fresh herbs, delicate fish, and dishes with tangy ingredients pair well with Sauvignon Blanc.

Dry Provence-style rosé

Dry Rosé is the darling of the summer wine categories. The original dry rosé’s came from the South of France in Provence, and are predominantly made from Grenache, Mourvedre, Cinsault, and Syrah grapes. Currently these same rosé styles are made around the world including many produced in the US. This brand is one of the most popular rosé wines in the world. What a label, too!

Find this wine: 2018 Chateau d’Esclans Rock Angel Rose  Côtes de Provence, France Wine Enthusiast 90 Points $35

Tasting Notes: A critically acclaimed rosé with tart minerality and lilac, strawberry, rose petals, citrus, and vanilla flavors.

Food Pairing: A wide range of foods pair well with dry rosé’s including: barbeque, grilled meats, salmon, and chicken.

Albarino

Albarino is the most successful white wine of Spain and Portugal. It is now being grown in the US and around the world. Typically, Albarino is from the Rias Baixas region of Spain and the Northern region of Portugal where the grape is called Alvarinho.

2019 La Cana Albarino, Rias Baixas, Spain

Decanter 90 points $16

Tasting Notes: This wine has a cooked apple, spicy pear, salty mineral, and dried citrus peel character. It is medium bodied and balanced with a terrific texture and freshness.

Food Pairing: Seafood is the logical and historic pairing for a coastal wine like Albarino. Cod, shrimp, crab cakes, tuna, scallops, halibut, linguine and clams come to mind as perfect pairing. Throw a Albarino-and-paella party to bring out the best in this wine.

Pinot Gris

Pinot Gris is grown in some spectacular wine regions like Willamette Valley, Oregon; Northern Italy; and Alsace, France. Pinot Grigio is the Italian name for the same grape.

2018 King Estate Willamette Valley Pinot Gris Oregon

Wine Enthusiast 91 Points $20

The 2018 vintage brings aromas of honeysuckle to this aromatic wine. Notes of mineral, ripe white peach, rose petal, and lemon zest frame the flavors of Bartlett pear and pineapple.

Food Pairing: Duck is an excellent pairing with Pinot Gris. Pork, grilled meats, charcuterie, soft cheeses, vegetables, salmon, halibut, and trout are also good choices for Pinot Gris/Grigio.

Red Zinfandel

Red Zinfandel is the grape that originally was thought to have been native to California. When Carol Meredith and her team at University of California, Davis, renown viticulture program, first conducted DNA typing of grapes, they discovered that the origin of this grape was actually Croatian with the grape called Crljenak Tribidrag/Tribidrag. Zinfandel also shares the same DNA profile with Italy’s Primitivo. This jammy wine is perfect for the red meat patio fare we enjoy in the Spring. Doesn’t the label look like a 70’s album cover?

2016 Zinfandelic Mendocino Zinfandel $16 Mendocino, California

Wine Enthusiast 91 points

Tasting Notes: Lush flavors of blackberry, violet, and spice aromas and jammy flavors make this wine a favorite for casual picnic food pairing.

Food Pairing: Grab the hamburgers, steaks, grilled pork, and barbeque. This Red Zin will stand up to all the spicy ingredients you bring to the picnic table.

As our world opens up in 2021, let’s start to welcome friends and family to the patio with these food-friendly wines, and toast the beginning of Spring. Cheers!

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