My red wine consumption takes a dive in Summer. I reckon I drink about 20% of the wines I drink in the other seasons. Even with a/c I just don’t feel like it.
So my question for those of you who live in hotter parts of the country, how do red wines fit into your routine?
Same. Nothing to offer. I’m probably 90% whites from Memorial Day to October down here. Red wine just don’t fit with the humidity, the heat, the food I cook in summer, the way my body feels. It’s not just about having the A/C cranked.
I also drink less wine, in general, in summer- often opting for beers or cocktails.
My two cents.
I moved to south Florida about 6 years ago after living in the NYC metro area for my entire life. I used to drink “full bodied,” heavier reds all winter long and now I rarely, if ever, open them. Similarly, I rarely cook the kinds of meals I used to make in the winter either (soups, stews, short ribs etc).
I still drink a lot of pinot noir and Italian reds. We drink rose all year round.
For me it follows the cuisine I am cooking. I tend to cook big-red-friendly dishes more in the cooler season but barbeque is a year-round sport here (North Carolina) and that is almost always a zinfandel, syrah, or grenache selection. Also, when we are in prime tomato time (now), if the pasta rotation includes marinara, I favor sangiovese options from Tuscany.
Cheers,
fred
If I want reds, I just hop over to the Bay Area and it’s almost always just right for reds.
At home, we tend to eat more ‘white wine foods’ in the summer, so that skews it, but we still drink the reds, but, like you, at a decreased rate.
I think a nice pinot noir at 53 degrees serving temperature to start is a good way to dine al fresco. With evening picnic food served room temperature or cooler.
I’ll still put my cru Beaujolais in the fridge but honestly I mostly just drink cheap rose all summer.
Drinking more than my regular share of beers, too, this weather.
Love some chilled red. Grignolino, Sabelli Frisch’s Mission, and some pinots on occasion
Reduced red consumption in the warm weather but but definitely reds still have a place. My warm weather reds tend to be all outside in the evening after things cool down. Quite a bit of new world Pinot Noir, zin and zin blends with grilled chunks of animals is a must, occasional lighter Grenache with the same. Almost never a Bordeaux or Syrah unless it’s a dinner that demands it in a climate controlled setting.
This might sound silly to some, but having now lived in Wyoming for over 40 years I long ago acclimated to our special brand of “four seasons” and can assure you that I (along with most others I know here) really suffer from our “heat” in the months of July and August. Those months in particular my alcohol consumption mostly is ale. I’ve had central air since around 2000 (needed it due to the August cellar temps otherwise climbing too high) and, like others, I find myself just preferring a cold ale to my red wine, despite the AC. Of course, some of that has also to do with much of my drinking being done outside, and also my best friend’s house (another “drinking” spot for me) not having AC. Also, my cellar is 99% red. Conversely, I think my ale consumption goes down in the 14 winters months we experience each year here at altitude . . . .
For some reason I love Brunello or Rioja on hot summer days.
Gotta agree with Dennis. Red consumption dips to nearly zero during summer…cocktails (this summer it’s Paper Planes for all), high acid, largely unoaked whites, roses, spritzes, and champagne trip my trigger. I’m still gob-smacked when we vacation in Hawaii, Mexico, or the Caribbean and observe the number of Big Bold New World Cabs on tables. Really no desire for the weight, complexity, or alcohol when the temps over 75.
My Burg consumption goes way down during the summer but I still have a taste for richer, easier drinking reds at night for some reason. I probably drink 75% whites and roses from June-September along with a lot of IPAs when I’m in the mountains or on water though. I just don’t have an appetite for higher acid, elegant reds this time of year.
I like reds with a bit more acidity in the summer months – poulsard, Loire cabernet franc, Langhe nebbiolo/Alto Piemonte, bourgogne/lighter-style Marsannay – that can take a bit of a chill to temper some of the heat.
Have an Aperol spritz to cool down first (or an ice water if you believe in that sort of thing). Then as others have noted, stick to higher acid reds. I found this effective on a recent Italian vacation.
Was down in Nashville last week visiting my oldest daughter and on Friday night we opened a ‘90 Monprivato and a ‘90 Clerico - with the AC at Yolan and the food, no problem.
few, if any, reds, until the Fall…basically whites, rose and the occasional sparkler until weather cools down
Just like shoes!
Philippine summers are terribly hot; and, yes, even an airconditioned home doesn’t quite hack it. I very rarely drink red during summer. Mostly beer, G+Ts, bubblies, whites and rosés for me.
What’s wrong with chilled reds? Carbonics? Beaujolais? Even lighter Cinsaults and Counoises?
Time to get out of your comfort zone and enjoy these types of wines - perfect for summer consumption…
Cheers.