They Talk about us on the Internet: « Serious eats : The Best Budget-Friendly Summer Wines »
Summertime can make a person (okay, can make me) a little lazy. Who wants to go inside for another beer when you could have an ice-filled cooler outside? Who wants to go to the store for a bottle of wine when you could grab a chilled white or rosé from your own fridge, ready to crack open or bring to a picnic or barbecue?
This is why—before the summertime sloth really gets us—I advise purchasing a case of wine for the months to come. With 12 bottles stashed in your fridge, you’re ready for every last-minute day-drinking opportunity. With any luck, you’ll even get a discount for buying all 12 bottles at once.
And that discount comes in handy, because I’m going to urge you to spend just a touch more on wine this summer in order to get something really tasty. I wish I could tell you that there are tons of perfect summer wines that you can nab for under 10 bucks. But the prices of land and grapes, tanks and labor, bottles and corks (or screwcaps), taxes, shipping, and advertising being what they are, you’ve got to stuff a lot into that 10-dollar bill. Getting great wine in there, too, is tricky. But you can get truly delicious wine for a little more. And I’ve been tasting dozens of bottles to help guide you along. Here’s what I’ll be stocking up on for summer.
Refreshing whites under $20
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Château l’Oiselinière de la Ramée’s 2014 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur Lie ($16). The vineyard, whose name translates to « owl’s nest, » sits near the confluence of the Sèvre and Maine rivers and is home to vines that are between 40 and 80 years old. The wine’s fuller and fruitier than the stony Chevalier, but delivers a nice crisp cut that makes it a lovely partner for simple chicken dishes—add lemon, oregano, and thyme to really make them sing.
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