{"id":3649,"date":"2018-07-31T12:49:01","date_gmt":"2018-07-31T19:49:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/danthewineguy.com\/?p=3649"},"modified":"2018-07-31T19:02:55","modified_gmt":"2018-08-01T02:02:55","slug":"in-the-wine-versus-beer-debate-wine-has-the-summertime-edge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/?p=3649","title":{"rendered":"In the Wine Versus Beer Debate, Wine Has the Summertime Edge"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article originally appeared, in part, in the August, 2018 issue of Bellingham Alive Magazine<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

How about this for a review of a refreshing, summertime beverage?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe color is gold and gives off a medium lemon aroma. Mild tartness keeps (it) interesting\u2026with a clean finish. Floral flavors with earthy undertones are present from front to back. As (it) warms a little, honey can be detected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sounds delicious, doesn\u2019t it? Except this description \u2013 surprise! — isn\u2019t about a wine. It\u2019s about a beer.<\/p>\n

BEER MEETS WINE<\/p>\n

For centuries wine drinkers have been chastised for snobby references to a wine\u2019s flavor, aroma, finish, body-style, and the like, along with the endless conversations surrounding it. Beer drinkers, on the other hand, seemed content to kick back and watch the world go by with a six-pack, brewed with little more than beechwood aging or Rocky Mountain spring water.<\/p>\n

My, how the times have changed.<\/p>\n

Step inside any local brewpub today and you\u2019re likely to hear conversations about hops, yeasts, and IPAs, backed by a beer-centric menu with statistics about ABV, IBUs and flowery descriptions. It\u2019s enough to leave any wine drinker feeling a little smug.<\/p>\n

Beers, once criticized for being somewhat homogeneous, still have a way to go before catching up to wines in terms of variety, versatility, and food-pairing ability. Think about the possibilities with wines; white, red, ros\u00e9, their spectrum of flavors, acidity levels, sweetness versus dryness content, and so on. And that\u2019s just the tip of the iceberg.<\/p>\n

\"null\"Which brings us back to summertime beverage possibilities. Yes, a cold beer goes well with a burger off the grill or a hot dog at the ballpark. For many, however, wines still have the edge in pairing with a broader range of food choices for other summer-related events including picnics, backyard barbeques, or outdoor dining on the deck or patio.<\/p>\n

But why argue? There\u2019s no reason these two old foes can\u2019t co-exist during the summer months. Both wine \u2013 and beer \u2013 is now available in an amazing array of flavor profiles to fit the season.<\/p>\n

Here are a few wine recommendations to consider this summer:<\/p>\n

WHITE, BRIGHT, AND FLAVORFUL<\/p>\n

Pinot Gris is a perfect \u201cstarter\u201d wine on a warm summer day. Take a chilled bottle along with you on a picnic with some fresh fruit, mild cheeses, a baguette, and a light salad or two and you\u2019re set.<\/p>\n

The Chehalem Wines 2016 Three Vineyard Pinot Gris <\/strong>(about $20) from Oregon\u2019s Willamette Valley makes a great choice for a picnic or patio wine. It\u2019s packed with honeydew melon, peach, and nectarine aromas and flavors along with a refreshing splash of citrus fruit, lively acidity, and a whisper of sweetness on the finish.<\/p>\n

Gr\u00fcner Veltliner is one of the current \u201cdarlings\u201d of the Washington wine scene\u2026and with good reason. It\u2019s a flavorful, high-acid white wine that seems to have found a home, especially within the Columbia Gorge growing region.<\/p>\n

The Savage Grace Wines 2016 Gr\u00fcner Veltliner<\/strong> (about $23) from Woodinville winemaker Michael Savage is brimming with Granny Smith apple and green melon flavors along with underlying notes of sugar snap peas and slate-like minerality. There\u2019s a weighty, near full-bodied character to this wine that\u2019s balanced by a crisp finish and a mouthwatering kiss of lime citrus. Try it with any seafood, and especially with fresh oysters; served either raw on the half-shell or right off the grill.<\/p>\n

And who says Chardonnay has to be a stodgy, pedestrian, overoaked white wine? The Stoller Family Estate 2017 Dundee Hills Chardonnay<\/strong> (about $25) from Dayton, Oregon forgoes the oak aging in favor of stainless steel, resulting in a wine with lovely lemon verbena aromatics, vibrant pear and lemon-citrus flavors, and a brighter, leaner finish. It makes an excellent food-pairing partner with grilled chicken or salmon with beurre blanc (as does the winery\u2019s 2017 Pinot Noir Ros\u00e9 for about $25 with its tangy red cherry and strawberry fruit flavors and laser-sharp finish).<\/p>\n

BIGGER AND BOLDER RED CHOICES<\/p>\n

\"null\"Bellingham winemaker Margarita Vartanyan has really stepped up her game as of late, and her recently released Vartanyan Estate Winery 2015 Tempranillo <\/strong>(about $26) is a great example. This medium-bodied wine\u2019s red berry fruits are capped with nuances of spicy clove, leather, sweet cedar, and vanilla bean. It practically begs to be paired with anything beef; but barbequed pork chops, ribs, brats, or even a pulled-pork sandwich should work just as well with this tasty red wine.<\/p>\n

Husband and wife Kyle and Cassie Welch are doing an amazing job with their relatively new winery in Richland, and their Longship Cellars 2015 Star Ship Red Blend <\/strong>(about $28) is nothing short of amazing. 61 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 18 percent Syrah, 15 percent Merlot, and a smattering of Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec, comprise a wine that\u2019s full of complexity and flavor. Fresh roasted coffee aromatics, dark, inky cassis on the palate, and slightly chewy tannins with a touch of bittersweet chocolate on the finish make this wine a natural to pair with a big, juicy steak.<\/p>\n

Finally, consider serving the Ch\u00e2teau Rollan de By 2014 M\u00e9doc Cru Bourgeois <\/strong>(about $30) at your next outdoor barbeque. This powerful but elegant Bordeaux blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot displays blackberry, black currant, and ultra-dark plum flavors with toasted oak accents on a soft, lengthy finish. Serve it with variety of burgers and toppings including ground lamb or beef with bacon, grilled onions, and medium- to well-aged cheeses.<\/p>\n

Summer is a great time for a cold beer or a glass of wine. Or both! The key: simply provide plenty of beer and wine options at your next big event or impromptu get-together. That should keep everyone happy, no matter the season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article originally appeared, in part, in the August, 2018 issue of Bellingham Alive Magazine How about this for a review of a refreshing, summertime beverage? \u201cThe color is gold and gives off a medium lemon aroma. Mild tartness keeps (it) interesting\u2026with a clean finish. Floral flavors with earthy undertones are present from front to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-from-the-bellingham-herald"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3649"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3649\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3655,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3649\/revisions\/3655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}