How is summer almost over? The days are already getting depressingly shorter. Sunset at 7:30? No fair! It feels like we were all just getting the hang of summer living in COVID times. But despite this crazy year, we can’t stop the passage of time. So here are my red, white and rosé top summer wine picks (all under $25!) to send summer off in style:
Gobsmacked 2017 Cyclops Love
I almost never buy wine purely for the label, but I made an exception for the Cyclops Love.
I also don’t buy BC wines very often because their price tag is often on the higher end of the scale (I’ve discussed why certain wines are more expensive than others before). That said, British Columbia, Canada’s western‑most province, is making world‑class wines in the Okanagan Valley, and despite the adorably silly label, The Hatch’s Cyclops Love is a seriously good wine.
The label (drawn by the winemaker’s 9-year-old daughter, by the way) is not the only unusual thing about this bottle. This offering from The Hatch’s Gobsmacked line blends together grape varieties rarely seen in North America: muscat, auxerrois and gewürztraminer. These are insanely aromatic varieties, generally grown in Alsace or Germany. Honestly, given the grapes and the light‑hearted label, I expected this wine to be crazy floral and sweet. So when I tasted it, I was blown away. Cyclops Love is tightly structured and quietly elegant. Pale yellow, with light lemon, green apple, subtle pear, pine and some flint on the nose. At first sip, it is medium‑bodied and bone dry, and tastes of flinty orange and pear, and a hint of gorgeous white flower (could it be orange blossom?).
Food and wine pairing:
🍽 + 🍷 Amazing food pairing potential: everything from hot dogs to spicy stir-fry
Only a few bottles left in Vintages of this top summer wine, so act fast. $22.95. Also available to purchase online directly from the winery (with delivery across Canada).
CR5 Gold
The CR5 Gold from Bodegas Crápula is the perfect red wine for your last few summer BBQs. It’s a blend of monastrell (aka mourvèdre) and syrah (aka shiraz, in the new world), one short of the great grape trifecta that makes up the Côtes du Rhône blend (one of my faves!).
This wine is from the Murcia region, just inland from the Mediterranean coast of Spain, south of Valencia. In the glass, it is a beautiful deep ruby colour with a hint of purple. On the nose (and later in your mouth) you get gorgeous dark berry aromas like blackberry, raspberry, black cherry and fig, a hint of cedar, as well as cocoa from the oak. This wine spent 5 months on neutral French and American oak, so that imparts some subtle baking spice and smokey tobacco aromas.
This is a rich, tannin-y wine that begs for food, particularly something off the grill to match the wine’s smokiness.
Food and wine pairing:
🍽 + 🍷 One word: anything from the grill – steak, burgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken or portobello mushroom caps
Lots of bottles left of this top summer wine pick in Vintages (at $17.95, it’s a steal!).
Lafage Miraflors rosé 2019
A few weeks back I learned about Jean-Marc Lafage’s Roussillon wines, and that’s precisely where this fabulous rosé comes from. I have sung its praises in the past, and made a fool of myself trying to open its fancy glass enclosure with a corkscrew.
Not only is the bottle gorgeous, but its content is sure to please as well. This Cotes Catalanes (a Roussillon appellation) is a blend of mourvèdre, grenache gris and grenache blanc. It is lovely pale peach colour and tastes of wild strawberry, red apple and a hint of minerality that is so typical of Roussillon wines. There is a slight perceived sweetness on the palate, but it is technically quite dry with 5 g/L of sugar. There’s also lots of fresh acidity, making it the perfect patio wine and one of my top summer wines year after year.
Food and wine pairing:
🍽 + 🍷 Tapas, cheese plates, summer salads, seafood, patio weather 😉
Pro tips:
- I guarantee this wine will evaporate out of the bottle quickly, but hang on to it afterwards for use as a pretty water carafe for your next socially distanced outdoor gathering.
- Makes an excellent summer hostess gift or birthday present
Bonus: Baco noir video tasting
In case you missed it, here’s a little video “tasting” featuring Trail Estate’s 2018 baco noir from Prince Edward County! Shoutout to Savvy Company for helping me get my hands on this highly-coveted bottle!
Shameless plug: if you’re on Instagram, head on over to my feed and hit the Follow button!
There you have it: your end-of-summer red, white and rosé recommendations! Did you have any fab finds this summer? Let me know in the Comments!
Happy wining!
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