Three Amazing Food and Wine Pairings for Summer 2022
Summertime is here and with the season comes the longing for easy and effortless summertime entertaining.
If you’re like me, you aspire to dazzle friends, family, and colleagues with your hostess skills. The goal is crafting impeccable food and wine pairings that scream sophisticated but require quotidian effort.
Achievable? Absolutely!
Either you can manifest Barefoot Contessa vibes and hope for the best or you adopt three super simple summertime food and wine pairings.
If you’re looking to minimize the heavy work of summertime entertaining, my best advice is to buy your chick hatchlings in early springtime.
Start your flock early, using only organic feed and free-range foraging. That way you’re ready to cull, butcher, feather, and clean your chickens in time for those great summertime grilled chicken recipes.
Really? You thought I was serious? I like my humor dry, like my zinfandel.
Buy the pre-cooked “just chicken” strips at Trader Joe’s. This is the easy guide to summertime food and wine pairings.
Let’s minimize the prep and maximize deliciousness. The goal is to be sipping wine in the backyard, stress free. Below you’ll find three of my favorite summertime food and wine pairings.
Summer food and wine pairing #1: Rose of Pinot Noir with Cool as a Cucumber Chilled Soup
Let’s start simply: with a no-cook recipe that is 100% puree and 0% actual cooking. Let me be clear: I am a winemaker, not a recipe developer. So, I am unrepentant in telling you this recipe is a riff on an Emeril Lagasse recipe. With a simple internet search for Lagasse cucumber soup, the recipe will appear.
I am here to tell you that you don’t need a recipe per se. You can use whatever is fresh and seasonal and delicious. No basil? No problem. Swap in mint or chives or scallions or some cilantro. I use peeled seeded cucumbers, a ripe avocado, and lowfat Greek yogurt for my base.
Use the dried seasoning you have on hand. Swap garlic for shallot. This recipe is forgiving. The best part is that is looks and tastes glam while the behind-the-scenes prep work offers a make-ahead, no cook, no fuss summer winner.
Serve it in bowls or in shot glasses for an eye-catching appetizer. And always adorn your plated soup with BAM! a drizzle of olive oil and a flourish of sea salt. Pair a glass of rose of pinot noir with chilled cucumber-avocado soup and a heel of crusty bread for a no-fuss summer meal when it’s just too hot preheat the oven. Or when you need to impress your friends.
Why this pairing works…
A rose of pinot noir is a lighter style wine that floats alongside a chilled and mild cucumber soup. Typically, roses showcase lighter fruit flavors like strawberries, tropical notes, and tangy pink grapefruit - each of which pair well with mild greens in the soup.
If you like some heat and incorporate jalapenos, the chilled rose is a perfect foil. Furthermore, my rose of pinot noir has lovely palate weight and good acidity. That acid balances the creaminess from the avocado, while the palate offers more substance than some insipid summertime whites.
You can find my iteration of cold cucumber avocado soup here, and I hope you love this summertime food wine pairing as much as I do.
Summer food and wine pairing #2: Chardonnay with Warm Pearl Barley, Grilled Chicken & Lemony Vinaigrette
I love this recipe since it works beautifully with just about any hearty grain. You can swap pearl barley for chewy farro or Israeli couscous, for example. You can make the grains on the stovetop or in the InstantPot.
Sauté the veggies you have on hand, like onion, garlic, summer squash, and that barely slimy spinach you bought last week (with the most healthful intentions). Add the sauteed veg. Cube your pre-cooked Trader Joes grilled chicken strips. Toss in some handfuls of soft herbs- think basil or chives or Italian parsley. Add feta or chevre or even parmesan.
This recipe is forgiving. Make a lot and use for lunch the next day. Lastly, dress the grains with lemony vinaigrette while the grains are still warm. This is the critical step that allows the grains to absorb the lemony goodness and sing alongside a bright, citrusy high acid chard. The citrus vinaigrette is the perky velvet bow that completes the package.
You’ve never made vinaigrette? Oh, it’s super simple.
In a Cuisinart or Robot coupe or blender, buzz together the following ingredients:
Peel of one lemon (skim with intention, avoiding the bitter white pith as best you can)
½ cup lemon juice
1-2 TB shallot diced (or you can use garlic)
A robust dollop of honey
A squeeze of Dijon mustard
Salt & pepper to taste
BLEND, taste, and re-season as necessary
FINALLY, add ½ cup of good quality olive oil, & buzz well
That’s it. The volumes are relative. Classically trained chefs use 3:1 ratios of oil to lemon juice. I think 1:1 works fine. Play around with volumes to suit your palate.
Why this pairing works…
Look for a chardonnay that showcases lemon curd, citrus zest, and citrus blossoms to play matchy-matchy with the lemon vinaigrette. Seek out a higher acid chardonnay style, where acidity keeps your pairing bright and the acid balances the oil of the vinaigrette and the richness of the chevre.
The acid in the chardonnay should nudge your palate to reach for another bite. And another bite makes you reach for another sip. For those of you in the ABC Club (Anything But Chardonnay), please remember that chardonnay is more than “oaky, buttery.”
This sublime food and wine pairing is perfect for a summer evening, when you want to toss together a hearty grain salad alongside a crisp, cold glass of white wine.
Summer food and wine pairing #3: Zinfandel with Grilled Tri-Tip
This final summertime food wine pairing is about as simple as it gets. It’s more a directive than a specific recipe. Zin pairs well with anything grilled. And we’re fans of tri-tip.
I’m not sure if this particular cut of beef is specifically a California thing, but our out-of-town friends always rave about it. Feel free to pair a bottle of zin alongside grilled ribs, pulled pork, or burgers. Zin and BBQ is a classic and delicious combination.
Why this pairing works…
Zinfandel is a fruit forward, low tannin varietal that pairs beautifully with tangy barbecue sauce and grilled meats. Unlike a high tannin cabernet that requires highly marbled and costly cut of beef to tame the astringency, Zins are lower tannin and lower astringency.
So, this wine pairs well with tougher cuts cooked low and slow as well as anything grilled. Zin has enough body to stand alongside a cut of beef without peeling the enamel off your teeth or turning your tongue to sandpaper. Easy drinking and packed with flavor, zinfandel is perfectly suited to stand alongside your favorite grilled and barbecue meals.
Pssst…looking for wines mentioned here?
Check out our limited release summer bundle for a summer palate party.