The warmer the weather gets, the more I want white wine. Crisp, bright, mineraly, cold-as-can-be white wine. Probably with an ice cube or two! Hopefully in the sun. And my coworkers feel the same way. This week, I asked them for their best white wine picks and let’s just say, they had a lot of thoughts.
Here are our favorite white wines for summer (and beyond!), according to the Food52 team. Cheers.
“The sauvignon blanc from Benjamin Bridge, produced in Nova Scotia, will always be a favorite of mine! It's incredibly bright with stand-out notes of citrus, mint, and apple that tastes unlike white wine I'd had anywhere else because of Nova Scotia's unique soil. My favorite wedding gift was a half case to bring back to NYC!” —Kaleigh Embree, customer care specialist
“This wine with steamed lobster—or any (shell)fish for that matter—tastes like summer. I enjoyed this pairing sitting at my favorite restaurant bar with my husband at the beach last summer. I liked the wine so much, I tracked down a liquor store that carries it, and now keep it in my fridge as a staple. —Sarah Yaffa, data analyst
“Can we get a little weird with it?! If so, this one is my summer fave! It's light and floral, a bit crispy, and perfect for summer salads and lobster rolls.” —Shannon Muldoon, director of client services
“And this one right here is the perfect picnic or beach wine.” —Shannon Muldoon
(Psst: I’m seconding Shannon here—also a big fan of this one!)
“I have been obsessed with this Selbach dry riesling. It's great with fish and plays very nicely with anything soy sauce-y, because dry riesling balances saltiness. Plus, this guy is under $20, making it a great weeknight choice.” —Casey Simring, Buyer
“I'll drink almost anything, but my fiancé Tom is a big white wine fan (although ABC—anything but Chardonnay) and he really likes this Savoie. He said this was the first bottle given to him by one of his closest friends, who's now a sommelier and said this wine was made for him. It made him explore more white wines beyond his usual sauvignon blanc and pinot grigio go-tos ever since!” —Alex Egan, senior SEO strategist
“Also, my mom who only drinks Chardonnay recommends The Snitch. She says for people who love buttery California Chardonnays, it's affordable for how good it is.” —Alex Egan
“This white has been a favorite of mine! Super nice citrus acids and slightly effervescent. I love it with an easy weeknight salmon with herby greens.” —Kayla Roolaart, assistant buyer
“One of my favorites is a Sancerre and I like this one from Domaine de la Villaudiere a lot. This is something that I will have really chilled on hot days that I don't feel like cooking, and I will pair it with something like a cold chicken salad or a charcuterie plate.” —Angela Bartolotta, drop ship supply chain manager
“I've been loving this Austrian white blend. It tastes like summer, is light, and a little cloudy. The producer, Koppitsch, also has a rosé I’ve been buying a lot, too” —Emily Kochman, community experience manager
(Assistant Buyer Kayla Roolaart piped in that she, too, is a fan of wines produced by Koppitsch.)
“Martha Stoumen, a Sonoma-based natural winemaker, turns out bright and flavorful bottles from Northern California grapes. The 2018 Honeymoon is made from Chardonnay and Colombard, and tastes like honeycomb. Thanks to some botrytis—noble rot!—in the latter grape (a ‘once in a decade condition,’ per Stoumen), there’s some gentle sweetness that fades over the course of each sip, balanced by a nice level of acidity.” —Ella Quittner, contributor and columnist
This wine comes in a one-liter bottle, which makes it extra perfect for socially distant get-togethers with friends. (Or, you know, just for keeping in the fridge for a long work week.) The winery, Franz Arndorfer, is known in Austria for its organic farming program. This one highly acidic and crisp, with a vegetal, sorta-spicy mineralness.
My sweet friend gifted me a bottle of this months ago and I still think about it. She described it as “like Thanksgiving in a bottle,” which is as much about its herbal, sage-esque flavors as it is about all the cozy-good vibes.
I couldn’t begin to count all the times my family has saddled up at Seabra’s bar in Newark and ordered an ungodly amount of buttery, garlicky clams, plus an equally questionable amount of Casal Garcia—very light, very crisp—to go with.
Made with organically grown grapes, this wine comes from the less-is-more school of thought. That natural fermentation adds a can’t-put-your-finger-on-it funk. Plus, it’s citrusy and mineraly—two of my favorite things in a glass.
This Chex mix was dreamed up by Hana Asbrink with parties in mind, but don’t let that stop you from making a scaled-down batch for yourself. It’s crispy, crunchy, and loaded with umami thanks to furikake, a briny Japanese seasoning typically including nori, toasted sesame seeds, salt, and sugar.
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