Well hello, gorgeous angels! Summer is upon us and it has been a hot sec since I’ve talked about wine on Substack which is ironic (or coincidental?? I never know which one to use) because all I do in the summer is…drink wine! Preferably outside and usually cheese and charcuterie are involved. There are a couple bottles I’m obsessed with at the moment - let’s talk about it.
BUBBLES
Montesissa Emilio ‘Bonissima’ Sparkling Bianco 2020
To me, this is the perfect summer wine. It’s not a pet nat or a champagne - it’s a sparkling white wine out of Italy. The bottle generally describes the wine as “white” so I never knew what varietal(s) it was made from (TBH I was too busy drinking the deliciousness and not really worried about it) but upon doing some research for the purpose of this newsletter I learned that this wine is made from MALVASIA grapes!!! Do you know how much I love Malvasia? It is maybe my single favorite white grape varietal. Throw in a little skin contact* and holy moly - you’ve got yourself the most floral, perfume-y, funky, bread-y, bubbly wine there is. Skin contact gives this wine some structure and body which makes it strong enough to stand up to foods like steak but delicate enough to eat with sashimi.
Find it
*skin contact = when grapes are fermented along with their skins. This is customary in the red wine-making world and is what gives the wine its color and tannins. However, in the white wine world, the skins of the grapes are typically filtered out before fermentation. When they’re left to ferment along with the grape juice, they impart color and tannins resulting in an amber-colored wine (aka “orange wine”)
CHILLABLE RED
Subject to Change ‘Wild Child’ 2020
A few things are clear to me when I look at the receipts from my local wine shop. 1) I spend a ridiculous amount of my income on natural wine and 2) I have purchased Wild Child by Subject to Change at least a dozen times. While I normally seek out light red wines in the hot summer months, this wine is actually pretty deeply colored - almost purple which I’d attribute to the Petite Sirah in this blend. Despite being pretty tannic and full-bodied, this is a great summer wine: it is absolutely delicious served chilled (not to mention it’s *much* lighter in the glass), slightly effervescent due to fermentation (which I love) and generally juicy AF. This wine would work really well with gamier meats like lamb!
Buy it
ORANGE
Cacique Maravilla 'Vino Naranja' Moscatel de Alejandria
I first tried Cacique Maravilla’s skin contact Moscatel about 2 summers ago and I instantly fell in love. It reminds me of a peach lemonade - bright and citrusy with a strong stone fruit flavor. This Chilean wine is dangerously chuggable and I am going to be keeping it stocked in the fridge all summer long. As far as pairings - spaghetti aglio e olio would be fantastic! Or cacio e pepe.