Plenty of Days Left to Chill with Summer Wine – White or Rosés

Even with Summer winding down and school upon the horizon, the weather won’t be cooling down anytime soon. What better way to beat the late-Summer heat than with a cold glass of wine?! Forty-nine to fifty-five degrees Fahrenheit to be exact. The best summer wine to chill in the refrigerator are whites and Rosés.

Summer White

A perfect Summer white is Sauvignon Blanc. The name Sauvignon Blanc means “wild white”and it is wild indeed with its green and herbaceous flavors. Its medium acidity and floral aromas makes Sauvignon Blanc a festive wine for the sizzling Summer months. Two of our favorite Sauvignon Blancs here at City Vineyard are Kim Crawford and Fire Road, which are both imported from New Zealand.

To give some history on the vineyards of New Zealand, the country’s first grapevines were planted in 1819 by an Anglican missionary named Samuel Marsden. It wasn’t until twenty years later that a separate gentleman by the name of James Bugsby successfully created the country’s first wines. Both Marsden and Bugsby had written of New Zealand’s promise as a wine producer because of the country’s climate and terrain that appeared exceptionally well suited to grapevines.

To this day, New Zealand continues to grow and prosper in terms of vineyards. The number of wineries nearly tripled in the decade between 1988 and 1998. In just the five years between 1993 and 1998, vineyard land grew by more than forty percent. Despite this vast expansion, New Zealand’s wine industry is still small. The country makes about one-twelfth as much wine as Australia. To put this into perspective, the United States produces about two and three quarters as much wine as Australia. Of the twenty or so grape varieties grown in New Zealand today, Sauvignon Blanc is one of the most renowned and widely planted.

If you’re into summer wine, specifically white, you’ve got to come in and try this!

Summer Rosés

In addition to white wines, Rosés are a Summer wine staple. If you can get past the pink color, Rosés are actually deliciously dry wines that soothe the palate of any red wine drinker. Rosé wines are made with red grapes, but the skins are removed early enough so that the wine displays a beautiful pale pink color. The Fontsainte Gris de Gris (from Corbieres, France) has quickly become one of our favorites this Summer.

Stop in and grab a bottle of all of our favorite summer wine selections, or better yet have a glass in the lounge or on the patio!

Why join a wine club? This is one of the top questions we get asked here at City Vineyard. Accompanying that question is also: What is the best wine club? and Is wine club a good deal? Often in the wine world we find that a good price doesn’t necessarily mean a great deal. Let us walk you through why its a good idea (at least when its with us!).

Join a Wine Club and Benefit in 5 Ways

1. Have a regular supply of wine on hand.

Our Gold Club makes it extremely easy to start that wine cellar you have always wanted. Joining a wine club can be fun any time of year, but if you pick the right club, it could help trim your holiday spending. Between big family meals and holiday parties, you can never have too many bottles of wine around the house. If this isn’t a good “why join a wine club” reason, we don’t know what is!

2. Have your own personal wine concierge.

To have a knowledgeable buyer (often with more pricing power than you have) pick out interesting wines you wouldn’t or couldn’t buy yourself, especially when it comes to the limited-release allocations we often feature for Gold Club.

3. Receive awesome discounts and VIP offerings.

City Vineyard club members also receive 10% off in-store purchases when you pick up your club, half-off beer and wine tastings, plus special offers and items exclusive to club members.

4. No commitment required.

City Vineyard doesn’t require a long-term commitment. Try it for a month or a year. It’s totally up to you.

5. No shipping costs.

You pick up in store, so there are no extra costs tagged on; your monthly subscription cost goes directly to your high-quality wine.

Here is what our Gold Club members received this August:

2014 Morey-Saint-Denis En la Rue de Vergy

DOMAINE REGIS BOUVIER

Wine is like a religion to the people of Regis Bouvier. Fourth generation winemaking is just the beginning. They have 16 Hectares on about 60 vineyards displaying a beautiful and unique focus on sense of place. They use environmentally conscientious farming. The domaine is located in the Village of Marsannay-la-Côte which is part of the AOC village appellation of Marsannay. The only one in Burgundy allowed to produce White, Rosé and Red wines. The wines are part of the Côte de Nuits and stylistically similar to those of their neighbors Fixin and Gevrey Chambertin. Red wine grapes are allowed to ferment for about 20 days in temperature controlled tanks before aging in oak barrels for 12 months. 20 to 35% new oak is used depending on the cuvée. Wines undergo light filtration before bottling.

Régis Bouvier in Marsannay achieves a rare hat trick in Burgundy, the mastering of all three colors–Red, White and Rosé, through reasonable yields and high quality terroirs. Bouvier makes one of the best Burgundian Rosés according to critics, his Whites are delicious, with their own particular character completely unlike other Chardonnays from Burgundy, and his Reds are his crowning achievement, managing to be wild and exciting while refined and elegant at the same time. Bouvier’s vineyards in Marsannay are Premier-Cru quality (some may even get classified) and his lieu-dit Bourgogne Rouge En Montre Cul vineyard is of a quality well above most (cultivated on a steep slope, not flatland Bourgogne). Morey-St-Denis En la Rue de Vergy is a superb vineyard right above the Grand Cru Clos de Tart. This domaine represents terrific value for a number of reasons–a lesser-known appellation combined with quality vineyard holdings and a conscientious and talented wine grower.

This 2014 Burgundy is considered to be one of the most prized finds of the last 5 years. With a taut backbone, this offering gives juicy red berry fruits, a silky mouthfeel and a long, authentic finish. Drinkable now and over the next 3-7 years.

Still not convinced? Stop in or give us a call today and we’ll tell you why you should Join the Club!