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The Germans have a word for the kind of wine you drink on sunny, hot days and temperate evenings in the plummy glow of twilight: sommerwein. I'll coin a term for San Francisco: Septemberwine, since our most summer-like month is playing out as we speak.
The best Septemberwine is white, cold, crisp and refreshing and, thanks to the great proliferation of white wines from all around the world these days, good Septemberwines come in many more varietals than Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. San Francisco's small, independent wine shops are the best places to find eclectic, even obscure, white-wine picks, so I went to a few of them to find some fresh options. The shops, run by passionate wine aficionados, did not disappoint.
 Photo credit: Stefanie Michejda 2006 Le Haut Lieu ($28)
"It's a good summer wine because it's dry, not too oily and very refreshing," says Terroir co-owner and Frenchman Luc Ertoran of this Vouvray from Domaine Huet in the Loire Valley. Ertoran would pair this wine, made from Chenin Blanc grapes, "with oysters or a fresh piece of fish." Terroir Natural Wine Merchant, 1116 Folsom St., 415-558-9946
2007 Cabriz Colheita Seleccionada ($12)
"I love unoaked, really crisp, snappy whites," Jerry Cooper says of this bottle from Spain's Dao region. Tasting of peach, citrus and mineral, the wine is a blend of obscure varieties, including Malvasia-Fina. "But you don't have to know the grapes to know that this is the perfect summer sipper," Cooper adds. Swirl on Castro, 572 Castro St., 415-864-2262
2007 Sineann Pinot Gris ($20)
Jug Shop managing wine buyer Chuck Hayward—the city's greatest promoter of the big wines from Down Under—
surprisingly recommends a wine from ... Oregon! "Stick it in the ice bucket, and then pour it down the gullet." he says. "You take a grape, peel it and that's what this tastes like." The Jug Shop, 1590 Pacific Ave., 415-885-2922
2007 Gagliardo Fallegro ($17)
Russian Hill shop owner Ceri Smith specializes in Italian wines and gushes about this gem from the North. "It comes in a really pretty bottle," she says, "But this wine is actually good—not just good looking." She describes the wine, made from the unusual grape Favorita, as being "full of citrus, zesty and fresh." Biondivino, 1415 Green St., 415-673-2320
2006 Monastero Suore Cistercensi Coenobium ($22)
Arlequin's Ian Becker went straight to Italy for his pick. "I'm not sure I can describe the wine," he says of this white made by nuns in a small town north of Rome. "It's rounder and fleshier than most people's idea of a summer white wine, but it's got waves of complexity." Arlequin Wine Merchant, 384 Hayes St., 415-863-1104
Where To Drink It
Bocadillos 710 Montgomery St., 415-982-2622
The best summer wines don't even need to be drunk out of a stemmed wineglass. I'm always reminded of this when I visit Bocadillos, chef Gerald Hirigoyen's homage to casual Spanish tapas bars. Available year round, Txakolina—a wine from Spain's Basque country—is the perfect summer white. Hirigoyen used to serve it the traditional way, in small, wide tumblers (they've since all been broken, but he plans to order more). I love these glasses; they suggest the casualness with which a summer wine should be treated. It's not about sipping and sniffing, after all, but lustily gulping. Txakolina—
made from grapes with typically exotic Basque names such as Hondarribi Zuri—is searingly dry, somewhat thin and not so great to drink on its own, but perfect when slurped with such Bocadillos fare as grilled prawns with garlic flakes, fried calamari or even just a plate of olives and marinated anchovies.
The Germans have a word for the kind of wine you drink on sunny, hot days and temperate evenings in the plummy glow of twilight: sommerwein. I'll coin a term for San Francisco: Septemberwine, since our most summer-like month is playing out as we speak.
The best Septemberwine is white, cold, crisp and refreshing and, thanks to the great proliferation of white wines from all around the world these days, good Septemberwines come in many more varietals than Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. San Francisco's small, independent wine shops are the best places to find eclectic, even obscure, white-wine picks, so I went to a few of them to find some fresh options. The shops, run by passionate wine aficionados, did not disappoint.
Photo credit: Stefanie Michejda
2006 Le Haut Lieu ($28)
"It's a good summer wine because it's dry, not too oily and very refreshing," says Terroir co-owner and Frenchman Luc Ertoran of this Vouvray from Domaine Huet in the Loire Valley. Ertoran would pair this wine, made from Chenin Blanc grapes, "with oysters or a fresh piece of fish." Terroir Natural Wine Merchant, 1116 Folsom St., 415-558-9946
2007 Cabriz Colheita Seleccionada ($12)
"I love unoaked, really crisp, snappy whites," Jerry Cooper says of this bottle from Spain's Dao region. Tasting of peach, citrus and mineral, the wine is a blend of obscure varieties, including Malvasia-Fina. "But you don't have to know the grapes to know that this is the perfect summer sipper," Cooper adds. Swirl on Castro, 572 Castro St., 415-864-2262
2007 Sineann Pinot Gris ($20)
Jug Shop managing wine buyer Chuck Hayward—the city's greatest promoter of the big wines from Down Under—
surprisingly recommends a wine from ... Oregon! "Stick it in the ice bucket, and then pour it down the gullet." he says. "You take a grape, peel it and that's what this tastes like." The Jug Shop, 1590 Pacific Ave., 415-885-2922
2007 Gagliardo Fallegro ($17)
Russian Hill shop owner Ceri Smith specializes in Italian wines and gushes about this gem from the North. "It comes in a really pretty bottle," she says, "But this wine is actually good—not just good looking." She describes the wine, made from the unusual grape Favorita, as being "full of citrus, zesty and fresh." Biondivino, 1415 Green St., 415-673-2320
2006 Monastero Suore Cistercensi Coenobium ($22)
Arlequin's Ian Becker went straight to Italy for his pick. "I'm not sure I can describe the wine," he says of this white made by nuns in a small town north of Rome. "It's rounder and fleshier than most people's idea of a summer white wine, but it's got waves of complexity." Arlequin Wine Merchant, 384 Hayes St., 415-863-1104
Where To Drink It
Bocadillos 710 Montgomery St., 415-982-2622
The best summer wines don't even need to be drunk out of a stemmed wineglass. I'm always reminded of this when I visit Bocadillos, chef Gerald Hirigoyen's homage to casual Spanish tapas bars. Available year round, Txakolina—a wine from Spain's Basque country—is the perfect summer white. Hirigoyen used to serve it the traditional way, in small, wide tumblers (they've since all been broken, but he plans to order more). I love these glasses; they suggest the casualness with which a summer wine should be treated. It's not about sipping and sniffing, after all, but lustily gulping. Txakolina—
made from grapes with typically exotic Basque names such as Hondarribi Zuri—is searingly dry, somewhat thin and not so great to drink on its own, but perfect when slurped with such Bocadillos fare as grilled prawns with garlic flakes, fried calamari or even just a plate of olives and marinated anchovies.
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