Refreshing Summer Wine

Calvin Webster is a wine writer, consultant, educator and master-of-wine student based in Nashville. When he isn’t wine-ing, he loves cooking complicated dinners and strolling the sidewalks of Germantown with his wife and three kids

For many of us, the frenzied pace of summer programming and the oppressive weight of the Nashville heat combine to form a sort of creative ennui. But for you, dear reader, this lethargy need not extend its corpulent hand to your table! Refreshment breeds repetition, but one must resist the urge to reach for the same sad Sauvignon blanc or played-out Prosecco that stopped surprising your guests years ago (if, indeed, either ever did). 

The formula for summer wine is simple: We must find something to refresh our palates, cool our heads and match the casual, often-outdoors occasions of the season, all without too much wallet lightening. To be the most in-the-know drinker at your next warm-weather gathering, see our selections below. 

Contratto Alta Langa Spumante Pas Dosé Millesimato 2019, $36, Midtown Corkdorks 

Summertime is especially rife with occasions where a personal desire for Champagne is tempered by a parched throng of strangers pouring country-club-sized glasses of whatever you happened to bring to the party. For such occasions, I often reach for this traditional-method sparkler (that is, bottle-fermented on the lees using the same process used by the Champenois). Sumptuous texture, yeasty complexity and an electric backbone of acidity, all for what entry-level Champagne cost a decade ago. 

Bodegas Rezabal Txakoli 2025, $23, Midtown Corkdorks 

Light, bright, slightly fizzy and brimming with lively acidity, Txakoli hails from the Basque country of northern Spain, where its refreshing salinity pairs with all manner of local fare (no tapas here, only pintxos). Traditionally poured from as high as one can reach over the shoulder into a stubby glass held low in the other hand, this humble blend of ostentation and messy conviviality fits in as much on a boat on Percy Priest as at a backyard barbecue. 

Chalmers Greco, $27, Crush Bottle Shop 

Few wine regions have managed such an astonishing, technicolor transformation as Australia has over the last two decades. The days of alcoholic oak bombs are now a distant memory, and the local spirit of experimentation and innovation has led to plantings of little-known varieties like this southern-Italian white in what was once solidly Cabernet and Shiraz country. The Chalmers family has judged this one perfectly—fruity ripeness and a hint of almond nuttiness supported by a brilliant acidity that leaves one thirsty for more. 

From the Tank Rosé 3L NV, $35, Crush Bottle Shop 

As you pour yourself the fifth—ahem, third glass—from this 3L box, rest easy in the knowledge that bag-in-box is by far the most environmentally friendly way to drink wine. Combine that shipping and packaging efficiency with organic viticulture, as in this case, and you’re basically doing the earth a favor, all for less than $9 per bottle equivalent. Plus, it will last for a month or two in your fridge! Or it would, theoretically, if it weren’t empty first… 

Beurer Trollinger Trocken 2023, $26, Woodland Wine Merchant Sylvan Supply 

Most people think of Germany as white-wine country, but oceans of crisp, high-acid red wines are produced there every vintage. Many collectors are catching onto the high-quality Pinot noir being produced in Baden and the Pfalz, but Trollinger from Swabia is still solidly underappreciated. Tart red fruits, light body and a color that lands somewhere between light red and dark rosé, this is the perfect red wine to chill down and enjoy on a hot day. 

Tinto de Verano, any wine retailer 

If you think of wine solely as a pretentious beverage, it’s good to get out more (“touch grass,” as the kids are saying). For instance, you could travel to southern Spain, where this tradition, which translates to “summer wine,” mixes inexpensive red table wine with citrus soda (think Sprite or 7Up) for a spritzer that is anything but full of itself. Grab something cheap and fruity—preferably a Spanish red without any new oak influence—and experiment with different ratios. For those who prefer less sugar, a soda alternative like Liquid Death’s Severed Lime is a good substitute. ¡Arriba, abajo, al centro, y pa’ dentro!