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5 White Wines to Pair with Seafood and Summer Fare

The dog days of summer are here… and National White Wine Day is around the corner on August 4th! In honor of celebrating both, we wanted to share a list of refreshing white wines we’re reaching for to help beat the summer heat. While these are fantastic wines to cool off with, they also pair splendidly with summer fare… think raw oysters, grilled vegetables, and charcuterie al fresco on the patio. So, without further ado, here are our white wine recommendations for summertime:  

Sauvignon Blanc

Sauvignon Blanc is a classic white wine for summertime thanks to its tropical fruit flavors and its light and crisp characteristics. Raw oysters on the half shell or vegan tofu fish and chips are just waiting to be paired with Sauvignon Blanc’s high acidity and lemon citrus flavors.  

Try These Sauvignon Blancs: 
Domaine Roger Champault 2021 Sancerre, Les Pierris 
Chateau Carbonnieux 2019 Bordeaux White, Pessac-Leognan 

Chardonnay

Chardonnay wine is a great white wine at any time of the year, but we’re including it on this list because we think it might just be the best white wine to pair with a summer staple: lobster. An unoaked Chardonnay, like Chablis, would pair particularly well with a cold lobster roll. If you’re not a fan of lobster and you prefer some oak in your Chardonnay, sauteed oyster mushrooms on focaccia bread would pair well with an oaked Napa Valley Chardonnay.

Try These Chardonnays: 
Clotilde Davenne 2018 Chablis Les Clos, Grand Cru 
Beringer 2020 Chardonnay, Private Reserve, Napa Valley 

Gruner Veltliner

Austria’s signature white variety, Gruner Veltliner, is incredibly refreshing with high acidity and zest, making it a perfect match on warm summer evenings. Along with its classic citrus primary flavors comes an herbaceous flavor and a classic note of white pepper. Grilled asparagus, artichokes, or anything with a little spice, like spicy shrimp tacos, would be great options paired next to Gruner.  

Try This Gruner: 
Forstreiter 2018 Gruner Vetliner, Alte Raben  

Albarino

Albarino hails from the Rias Baixas region on the northwestern coast of Spain. This white wine is typically light in body and sweetness, high in acidity, and is such an easy drinking, refreshing option to beat the summer heat. Albarino’s classic lemon zest and unique salty flavors would pair splendidly with a vegan cauliflower piccata dish or just about any form of seafood thanks to its coastline characteristics.  

Try This Albarino: 
Terras Gauda 2020 Albarino, O Rosal, Rias Baixas  

Chenin Blanc

Chenin Blanc’s dry, medium-light body and high acidity characteristics make this white wine a perfect summer sipper. While this white wine is extremely versatile and food-friendly, it would pair particularly well with grilled soy-ginger tofu and crisp summer salads.  

Try These Chenin Blancs 
Domaine Du Margalleau 2020 Vouvray Sec 
Le Fief Noir 2018 Chenin Blanc, L’Ame De Fond, Anjou 

The WineExpress Team brings you the latest wine news and exciting recommendations! We’ll talk about what we’re currently drinking and the wines we are looking forward to. There will be a lot of different opinions and we’d love to hear yours too!

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