Wines to drink during a heatwave

Get out the deck chairs and tie on the knotted hankies – the hot weather is here!

Whether your remedy to beat the heat is a cool pool, a shade tree, or a blasting air conditioner, it always helps to have a relaxing beverage to help ease the intense heat.

On the white side

Try white wines that’s low in alcohol and high in acidity. Alcohol is dehydrating so wines with high alcohol are going to make you thirstier. Wines with high acidity will make you salivate more and to some extent help to quench your thirst.

That being said, look for a wine that sets of a bit of sweetness. Don’t start overheating! I’m not talking about semi-sweet wine. Think Gewürztraminer or an exotic white blend like this Cape Portuguese White blend from Boplaas.

Cape-Portuguese-White-Blend-2014-cropped-300x286

 

Boplaas Cape Portuguese White Blend is low alcohol – 11.9%.  (important in this heat) and offers fabulous tropical fruit flavours like pineapple. The wine is made up of 50% Verdelho and 25% Sauvignon Blanc and 25% Chardonnay. Enjoy on its own or serve with light summer fare such as a salad, fish or fruit.

A wine to match your red-hot face

Know as the nectar of summer, the perfect rosé is young, crisp, dry, and pairs well with all foods at all times. Roses are typically associated with hot, coastal locales and the briny flavours of the sea. Feeling slightly cooler? Not? Best you pour yourself a glass of Solms-Delta Rosé.

Solms Delta Rose 2014 (3)

If the wine does not cool you down then the funky new label will. Solms-Delta Rosé 2014 is a wine with delicate aromatics that was made with Grenache and a small portion or Cinsault. The concentrated fruit and minerality on the focused palate make the wine ideal lunch-time tipple.

Red Hot Reds

Go for a light in colour red, like a Grenache. It’s not so easy to find in South Africa but once you’ve stumbled upon the right one, that suits your taste-buds, you won’t look back. It’s the perfect red wine for summer when served chilled and I would suggest that you pre-order a few boxes from Lynx Wines outside Franschhoek.

lynx_grenach

Shake it up

If you are looking for something different you can always get creative and shake up a few wine cocktails. They’re not difficult to make and the best part is that you can add ice to the wine which no wine snobs can fault!

Head over to the Leopard’s Leap website for some great wine cocktail recipes.