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My husband is in the wine business, and he suggests

for white wines, a delicate Gavi or Chenin blanc; Prosecco, if you like the bubbles.
For red wines,french Saumur-Champigny or italian Bonarda, even slightly chilled. Of course Rose': garnacha from Navarra or Cerasuolo from Abruzzi.

Enjoy

I really love reds and lately have been drinking DRY Lambrusco. It can be difficult to find, but it is a great, cold, bubbly red! Easy drinking and delish (just don't get the sweet lambrusco!).

lots of vinho verde along with the standby grigios and blancs.

i haven't loved any of the roses i've had so far this summer. don't know if that's because i haven't had any good ones, they're just not as good this year as they have been, or maybe my palate is just on to bigger and better things.

i also just finally tried my very first two buck chuck, which wasn't bad for $3. good for drinking mindlessly on a hot day, and i don't feel guilty about using it for sangria.

i've actually been drinking more roses with the occasional white
i'm SO bored of white wine
i mean SO. nothing's doing it for me. I miss the earthy, rusticness of the provencale reds I've been addicted to the past 6 months or so.
the roses I've been finding are "eh" okay
i had a good mulderbosch from South Africa recently and some french ones, but overall, I just miss my red wine!
anyone have any suggestions to help out?

we're still drinking red - pinot noir and nero d'avola - over here, but add in more whites in the summer.
This year, sicilian whites - I figure they know from heat - and gruners from austria

Guido,

For Sicilian whites, try a white called La Segreta (Planeta) - it's a blend - delicious. And it's pretty widely available at wine shops.

We've been drinking our way through the Bordeaux blanc section at Astor Wines. Good values, all under $12 or so. Fruit and mineral. Loved the Ch. de Bonhoste. Ch. Bonnet is pretty good, as well as the Ch. Tour de Groupin (I think that was it.) Only the Ferrande (the cheapest) was bad. We also like the Apremont "Les Rocailles".

Sultry summer days beg for us to lighten up when it comes to the wines we choose. Just as we naturally seek ways to keep the kitchen cool by bypassing the stove, we have plenty of options for beating the heat when it comes to selecting summer wines.

Think light. Light color and light alcohol. Who wants a big Cab or Super Tuscan when the mercury is bursting? Here's what I drink more of during the dog days of summer:

Albarino from Spain
Loire Valley whites like Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume
Dry roses from the Southern Rhone, like Tavel
Moscato d'Asti or Prosecco for a little fizz
Gruner-Veltliner from Austria
Riesling!
Zinfandel for BBQ---the red, not the white

Cheers!

Ain't nothing wrong with sweet Lambrusco... Don't' believe the hype! This was covered a couple months back...

Although lately it's only white wine at the Perfection. Ever since the Times article on Reislings and Chablis... but Sancerre and Pinot Grigio remain a standby.

Reislings: I don't remember this one being covered in the Times article, but Dr. Loos (Or Loosen?) is the guy. His reislings rock the casbah.

I've just tried this South African rose called Obikwa. For CA$9 its a steal - and not a bad drink at all!

i'm almost exclusively a red wine drinker, but i just came back from ma famille in alsace and now i cannot get enough of alsacian dry rieslings and sylvaners. they are fantastic on a hot summer day.

I have been subsisting on Americas Test Kitchen's Sangria recipe, with Yellowtail Merlot as the base.

A few weeks ago while out I drank Proseco all night. I LOVE Reislings and Voingners (sp?) - I tend to stick to whites and very light reds in the summer. But in the end as long as I can drink it outside in the beautiful weather I'm happy!

Been trying sparkling shiraz. Vixen and Rumball are delicious. Not cheap at $20+, but worth a try.

I know it's not wine, but I recently sampled Absolut's Ruby Red Grapefruit.

Yeeeeee. Haaaaaaaaaaw. That's some good summertime drinkin.'

A friend told me about this great concept at the wine shop that used to be next to Heartland Brewery on Union Sq. that moved to 13th St.& 3rd Ave. Can't remember the name of the shop. Anyway, they have a vending machine where you can sample certain wines and each time you use the vending machine you get points to use on your purchases. Cool, huh!

I stoppped into Bodum yesterday and the clerk was telling me about a Greek white wine that he buys by the case and LOVES LOVES LOVES. It's called Megapanos. Anyone familiar with it and where to get it?

ooooh anne, you remind me that there is a DELICIOUS greek white that i DO adore called Malagousia White, Dom. Gerovassiliou 2005
its $18 a bottle at Astor, but soooooooo woooorth iiiiiit!
you can't miss it, the label is a teal-y blue and has a giant, sweeping graphic "G" on it
actually, I must go pick up a bottle tonight
imperative!
thanks for reminding me there's a white i love :-)

There is nothing like a good albarino (I like Burgans) with some seafood on a hot summer night. Yum.

omigod, how did I miss the wine vending machine??
I've got to go by their new store!
It's Union Sq Wines btw

Thought of another budget white we keep drinking this summer - from French Catalan "Côté Est" Lafage
yum

there's a Gavi in my fridge --
I always found that to be a totally reliable grape for Italian whites, but less so in recent years. Anyone know anything?

i discovered prosecco a few years ago when i was in italy, and i felt all cool and smart for knowing about it.

now it's the latest thing, and i'm kind of pissed about that.

prosecco was MY little discovery, and now it's going to be the new merlot. i feel the same way about west coast pinot noirs. i got into them, then damn Sideways came out, and now it's the most cliche wine...

i second albarino -- forgot all about that one!

In Italy people have been drinking Prosecco for 50 years. Its not about fashion, its about enjoying the wine.

I have to concur with andrein

the only problem I have with wines getting popular
is if it results in shoddy production which changes what made the wine good in the first place
(hello merlot and chardonnay!)

I suppose you could say the same about, say,
organic produce getting popular
fab...as long as they don't F* it up!

TJ's two buck Beaujolais makes a nice sangria - I made one with tangerine juice, fresh oranges, limes and lemons and no extra rum or brandy so we could down great quantities of it over supper last week.

Also, I think the Txokolina that was recommended here a little while ago is the perfect summer wine - light, crisp, incredibly refreshing and good with summer food.

Vinho verde! so refreshing, and affordable, I must go through 4-5 bottles a week in the summer.

I am so glad to see that while I was sipping Rum in the tropics, the wine section was alive and active over here at the kitchen.

A few thoughts:

Guido ~ indeed your sentiments about mass production + popular varietals are so true. This being said, Gavi is one of my favorite Italian whites and you've inspired me for this week's post (I am remiss to think that it has taken me this long to choose it). It's considered one of Italy's great whites, so I am sure we can still find some undiscovered gems for you.

Opoponax ~ look to the Sonoma Coast or Santa Lucia for beautiful, as of yet to be discovered, west coast Pinot Noirs.

Ann ~ why don't you look for a hearty white, like Viognier or sexy White Burgundies? It appears that you like something with some girth and body, these may do the trick. Chilled reds are always fun too, Beaujolais & Sancerre Rouge are great options.