If you’re looking for a wine to pair with warm weather meals or to sip on the porch or patio, think pale and cold, white or rosé. There is an enormous variety of bottles from all over the world to choose from; nearly every wine region will have something you can enjoy.
Stop into The Study Fine Wines in far-north Greenwich (Banksville, opposite the Tennis Center), and you can get some good recommendations from Katherine Goldberg—wine buyer, former sommelier of a Michelin-starred restaurant in New York, and proprietor of this cozy shop with husband Noah. Katherine recently pulled about a half-dozen labels from her shelves, to give us a brief primer on what to chill for this season’s refreshment.
“Our customers really love dry rosés in the summer,” notes Katherine. She points out a bottle of Gobelsburger, a dry, Austrian blush wine. “This one gives a little tingle on the tongue and is very delicately flavored.”
Also on her buy list are the 2012 XA, a Spanish wine made with the Xarel-lo grape from Albet I Noya in the Penedes region of Spain, southeast of Madrid.
“It’s made from all-organic grapes—many vintners are climbing aboard the organic bandwagon. It’s crisp, with a bit of fruit flavor, a bit of lime and a little bit of pear,” says Katherine. Bargain-hunters note: it’s also a great buy at under $11.99 a bottle.
Katherine also recommends the rosés of Provence, so appropriate for summer nights, reflecting their origins in the south of France. Under a blackboard at the shop, recently decorated by a friend for one of The Study’s Saturday tastings, she displayed the following:
left to right:
Cotes de Provence: Commanderie de Peyrassol; Sancere: Domaine du Pré Semelé; Cotes de Provence: Olivier Sumeire "La Croix du Prieur"; Cotes de Provence: Chateau de Saint Martin "Eternelle Favorite" (magnum, 1.5 liters)
White wine lovers may overlook some of the wines of the Loire Valley which are less well known, but good values.
“Many people know Sancerre, but you can also look for whites from Touraine, Cheverny, and Menetou Salon,” says Goldberg, “they are well-priced and delicious.”
In spring and fall, Katherine gives evening classes, sometimes with a visiting winemaker. She conducts tastings with featured wines on Fridays and Saturdays from 2 to 7 in the afternoon. You may also be treated to an impromptu concert by her husband and business partner, who’s also accomplished on piano and bass. Sit back in a comfortable chair—the shop has a couple—and enjoy.