Selecting Wines for a Beach Trip
Next week Beau and I will be hosting several friends for a beach trip to North Carolina’s Outer Banks. In typical me fashion, I may have gone overboard in my self-appointed role as the trip’s wine manager, buying several bottles that I believe will all in their own way be perfect complements to the occasion. I’m a wine geek, and one of my favorite things in the world is to share with my friends the wines that excite me.
Now, you are obviously familiar with the concept of pairing wines to foods, but we at Probably This HQ are pioneering the art of pairing wines to—vibe. In fact we wrote a whole chapter on pairing wines to a whole bunch of different vibes and celebrations in our book Housewarming! Basically, we’re not only considering the cuisine you’re having but rather zooming out to consider the type of fun you’re trying to have, the mood you want to set, and the best thing for that specific occasion.
So today the vibe we’re pairing to is “beach trip”. The guiding principles for these selections? Crispness. Medium to high acidity. Light to medium body. We want wines that go down like water and will pair with lots of different foods. We want wines that taste like the ocean, or at least like something you can enjoy in the sun. But beach trips don’t start and stop at the shore, we also want wines that pair well with holding tongs by the grill, with biting into a charred hot dog, with sinking your teeth into a steak—that’s where the few medium bodies red selections come into play!
So here are some of the wines we’re bringing that I think you too would enjoy on your own beach trip. If the wine store is overwhelming and you you just want someone to tell you which wines are good, I am here to be that person for you. These suggestions could be an easy starting point!
Whites
ASSYRTIKO
We’re bringing: Alexakis 2022 Assyrtiko -- Crete, Greece.
One of the best shortcuts for pairing wines to foods is just geography--for example, I find that Italian reds are generally great with meatballs. For me this carries over into vibe. If you want a good beach wine, get a wine from a beach place. How about Greece? I hear it’s gorgeous. I’ve never been but I swear I’m there when I have one of these delicious wines. Assyrtiko is rarely grown outside of Greece, so it’s not a terribly popular varietal, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t great. Incredible pair with shellfish or other seafood, or salty Greek feta. Try it with an anchovy-heavy Caesar salad, too.
Albariño or Alvarinho
We’re bringing: Vizconde de Barrantes Albarino 2022 -- Rias Baixas, Spain
Citrusy and crisp and light and just wonderful. Much like the assyrtiko above, this style is going to be a great pair for seafood, especially shellfish or something light and raw like ceviche.
Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc
We’re bringing: Atmosphere Pouilly-Fumé 2020
If you don’t like sauvignon blanc and you’ve maybe only had them from California or New Zealand, I encourage you to try something from the Loire Valley of France--and if you do like sauvignon blanc and you’re a fan of, say, Sancerre, I wanna tell you about Sancerre’s cheaper little sister, Pouilly-Fume. This is going to be a grapefruity and maybe slightly floral wine, a touch of flinty smokiness to it and it’s just perfect. Pouilly-Fumé. Careful not to confuse with Pouilly-Fuisse, which are also great French white wines but they’re just completely different and made with Chardonnay.
German Riesling
We’re bringing: Von Schleinitz 2021 Riesling -- Mosel, Germany
Average price of $17, Wine enthusiast rating of 86, this is going to be bright and fruity with a delicious minerailty. Riesling got a bad rap from the sugary slosh that got popular from American bargain bottles but if you know wine you know that riesling makes for some of the most delicious and fine wines in the world. Do not confuse fruitiness with sweetness! While some bottles will contain residual sugar, many rieslings are completely dry--and unless they are dessert wines, any sweetness will typically be perfectly balanced out by riesling’s characteristic acidity.
Reds
Natty Reds
Martha Stoumen Post Flirtation 2022 - California
Natural wines are taking the world and specifically our home by storm. This one here is a tiny bit sour in that natural wine way, and it’s just got this chewiness that I’m obsessed with. Lots of ripe fruit but such a nice light body. Best served chilled, but you should honestly be doing that with all reds especially in the summertime--65 degrees is a general rule of thumb for reds. I’ve had this wine plenty times, love this winemaker and pretty much everything I’ve ever had from her, but this is a definite standout.
Beaujolais
We’re bringing: Domaine de la Bêche Morgon 2021
Notes of sour red fruits but a big nice minerality. All Beaujolair is made with 100% Gamay Noir grapes, but it’s called Morgon specifically because of where it’s made--Morgon, which is in Beaujolais, and in Beaujolais all the red wines are made with Gamay. As with any Beaujolais it’s going to be about as light-bodied as you can get for a traditional red and it is Just. So. Good.
Languedoc Blends
We’re bringing: Languedoc-Cabrières 2020
This is a blend of mostly Syrah and second-mostly Grenache and also some Carignan and Cinsault but don’t worry about that. This, and many Languedoc reds, will be medium-bodied and sort of rustic, maybe slightly smokey wines that I have specifically earmarked for the night that our friends are grilling for dinner. Well, this and the next wine—
Tempranillo
We’re bringing: Finca La Estancada 2021
—which is a Spanish oaked tempranillo. If you’ve ever had a Rioja, you have had something adjacent. This is going to be another great pair for that night of grilling. Those two are about as heavy as we’re going to want to drink at the beach, because remember that the vacation wine program is about crispness! Beachiness! But the fact is we’ll need something something that stands up to a sort of char flavor—these are going to be perfect for that.
Let us know if you try any of these out for yourself, or if you’ve had them before and what you think!