Simple Summer Wines from Spain

Summertime for most of the United States means the return of vegetation. Both our rural and urban areas come alive with the blossoming of flowers, the production of fruits and vegetables and the long hours of sunshine. We spend countless evenings cherishing this season. As we relax, whether on our own patio or at a neighborhood restaurant, we look for refreshing wines to share the intimate harmony between both humanity and nature.

Spanish white wines drink so well during the summer you would think these simple, quaffable wines contributed to modern Spain’s budding culinary scene. But just as Spain confronts its reputation as a seafront, sangria-drinking resort, their inexpensive whites are demanding a new contemplation among the country’s gastronomic renaissance. Here in the United States, Spanish wines offer us the best of both worlds: great food wines at a reasonable price.

Whether the cuisine is Mediterranean, Galician, or Basque, Spanish white wines rule the new culinary table. Rich langostinos with an albarino from Rias Biaxas, Meditteranean paella and Cava, or chiquieto and chocos with a luscious Chacolis, combine Spain’s mysterious past with its marvelous future.

The Spanish sparkling wine Cava makes one of the most food friendly beverages available. Its been said before, and I’ll say it again, “Good Cava is the ultimate BBQ drink.” Forget beer, it has too much sugar to quench summertime thirst and not even the driest Riesling can cut through BBQ sauce with molasses. Cava accomplishes both and much more.