March 02, 2022 by Arden Montgomery

Best Wine for a Summer Party

The clouds are clearing, the sun is beginning to shine, and the Solstice is right around the corner. It’s time to bring our lawn chairs, blankets, and blindingly-white tablecloths out of hiding and set up for 2023’s array of inaugural Summer soirees – surely the first of many after a long and weird winter. 

You’ve spent all spring planning your charcuterie, your dessert selection, flower arrangements, treats for the dogs – every detail is planned and in its place. And now it’s finally time to make that last and all-important choice: what are you going to drink?

Allow us to make some suggestions. 

What to look for in a summer wine

Generally, when the weather gets a bit steamy or errs on the arid side, you want a beverage that’s going to refresh, replenish, and cool you off. Lighter rosés, reds, and whites will all be your best friends during the hotter season. 

Truly it’s difficult to go wrong with a chilled white or pink during the summer, as long as you steer clear of the extra-spicy Chards and the deeper rosés. Reds are just a bit trickier – but there’s a trick you can use to pick out reds that won’t make you sweat more when the sun’s out. 

The climate in which a grape is grown partially determines its flavor profile (or terroir). Grapes grown in colder climates generally have a cooler profile, and are a better selection for keeping chill during the warmer months. Alpine reds, Argentinian blends, and wines from the Pacific Northwest are some of our summer favorites. 

Another, slightly less nerdy method, is to reach for chillable reds. We have plenty of these in the Argaux collection. 

Best wines for a summer party

  • 2020 Gouchas Luján de Cuyo Carbonic Malbec – $22

    This Beaujolais-inspired Malbec is exciting and oh so fresh. Fair warning, this could be your new favorite chillable red – seriously, we would drink a lot more Malbec if they all tasted like this.

    Organic farming practices, hand-harvested, native yeast fermentation, natural winemaking, unfined/unfiltered, vegan-friendly, and only 1,250 cases produced.

    Bring this chillable red to a sophisticated soiree in a summer garden, or to an western themed party…Yellowstone anyone?

  • 2019 Vignerons Ardéchois ‘Les Classiques’ Chardonnay – $20

    This summery Chard leaves behind the typical breadiness of the genre and leans into a crispy texture and zingy, bright, and fruity flavor profile that makes it ideal as the base of a sharable party punch. (That price tag isn’t half bad, either.)

    Oenophiles will be drawn in by aromas of Meyer lemon, green apple, and white flower, and delighted with a palate of acidic pear, apple, and citrus.

Pair this with our Chicken Milanese served alongside this Arugula & Radicchio Salad

  • 2021 Chateau Montfrin ‘Paumiste’ Rosé – $18

    At this price point you could host the entire Wimbledon guest list and still have some leftover for a decent charcuterie board. But that might be inadvisable by most health boards. How about an intimate Wimbledon watch party instead? Or a casual day courtside with a group of your best friends.

    Wherever you choose to drink it, Paumiste promises to delight. It’s practically a summer Sangria already, with shining aromas of strawberry, peach, lavender, and grapefruit, followed by a delicious palate of pomegranate, citrus, and Herbes de Provencé.

    Pair with Carnitas or this Crispy Rice Salad and an in-depth discussion about the evolution of women’s tennis uniforms.
  • 2021 Domaine Guillaume Pin Savoie Apremont – $26

    This wine drinks like premier cru white burgundy for the price of Sancerre. Sign. Me. Up. Think tart mandarin, green apple, lemon, almond blossom, wet rock

    Organic farming practices and only 150 cases produced.

    Savoie is the perfect aperitif wine. Enjoy a refreshing glass with some Comte or goat cheese, oysters, a light fish dish, or simple Asian dishes with ginger, lemongrass and herbs like this Sesame Salmon and Herb Salad.

Argaux can help

Whatever the size of your soiree, Argaux has a vast selection of delicious small-batch wines that are sure to suit an array of tastes. If none of the wines on our list quite caught your fancy, or if the summer months in California, France, Italy, and Spain are for you a winter wonderland in the southern hemisphere, you can get some more seasonally appropriate suggestions in our Best Wines for Winter article.

We also offer a number of gifts and kits that will help you dive a little deeper into the world of wines with blind tasting activities and geographic samplers, or give a boring bottle a little something extra with a how-to spritzer mixer box. 

Looking to learn more about wine? Check out our latest Wine 101 resources.

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