Every year, when the weather does what it’s doing now – beautiful warm clear days, cool bug-less nights, the pull to be outside with friends and family – my mind has already arrived at the next excuse to open a bottle of wine.  As a certified Cork Dork I have two criteria.  One is to taste things I have not tasted before. The other is to open things I have not been thinking about over winter (with its heavy, sturdy, “comfort” foods and wines).

In the Not Tasted Recently Department, it’s embarrassing to admit that the first thing I open is my own Spring Wine from last fall’s vintage.  It’s not spring for me until that wine is out and we’re doing crisp fresh asparagus with a light vinaigrette.  I love Spring Wine’s bright fruit and fresh character that somehow makes me see green, think green, feel green, and want to act like a daffodil.  I mean just hang out and look around at the wonderful changes taking place in the garden, the tree tips, the lawn.

A few nights ago, Lee and I shared a bottle of Selbach 2008 Riesling from Bernkasteler in the Mosel Valley, Germany.  We took it with us to The Gables Restaurant.  Jack was debuting his new spring menu and I had a near religious experience having this wine with his duck salad.  For the bone-dry wine drinker it might be a little sweet, but it’s lively acidity, feint mineral taste and delicacy of low alcohol sent me into a tail-spin and I felt like a daffodil all over again.

What’s in your picnic basket?

So what else is on my list for this upcoming picnic and party season?  Mostly light fresh crisp whites!  A few suggestions:

·      German Rieslings like the Selbach I just mentioned

·      Those wonderful slightly sweet low alcohol Muscatos from Northern Italy

·      New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs (Lee’s favorite)

·      French Chablis (these are the lightest Chardonnays from Burgundy)

·      Loire Valley whites (like Muscadet)

·      Chenin Blanc from just about anywhere it’s made (We had a very good one from Baja California in Mexico this winter.)

Even though whites are at the top of the spring list, some of us are going to drink reds anyway!  So time to transition and move the big heart-warming tannic “take me to your steak” reds back to the cellar, in favor of lighter reds like Pinot Noir, Cotes du Rhone and even some of the less expensive delicious Garnacha’s (Grenache) from Spain.  These are fruitier dry reds and they work so nicely with lighter meats ranging from lamb to fresh pork to roast chicken.  I’m happy using these selections through most of the summer…or at least right up until we crank up the grill and baste on Uncle Ray’s BBQ sauce. Which we will discuss at a later date.

One final thought on spring-ish wines: don’t wait till summer to look for a nice clean dry Rosé to stock your larder (read that cry rosé, not the sweet pink blush wines).  Start now so you know what to take with you to the shore, on the boat, or just out to the back patio.  What intrigues me so much about delicious dry rosés (besides the fact that they are so perfect with cheese, sausage, olives and crusty French bread) is that they come out of the refrigerator cool and crisp like a white…and then warm up on the table to a light red.  So everybody’s happy!

The classic dry rosés are from southern France (Provence) and Portugal, but today you can find them just about anywhere.  I’ve had some very nice ones from California and Chili, and we even make them here in Pennsylvania.

Have a great spring filled with delicious wines and foods,

Eric