For many, the month of July means sun and holidays. A few weeks to relax and do whatever you like. And what about the wines? Shouldn’t they be undemanding as well? Probably, and the good news is that undemanding wines have become much more fun. Today, some wines do not require a single bit of intellectual reasoning. But that doesn’t mean that they are trivial.
They are not so expensive, these wines, but they are never the cheapest. And that is the only criterion. You make a deal with yourself that you are now “allowed” to drink without having to say something intelligent about the wine or even to remember the wine afterwards. If you do remember it anyway, well, then it was probably excellent.
We all need some undemanding drinking sometimes (in moderation, of course).
Or you do just the opposite. Not a bad idea either.
During the summer, maybe you have more time to eat long, delicious dinners and then you want wines to match. Summer is an excellent time to treat yourself to some extra good food. If you eat outdoors, you may avoid serving the most expensive and finest wines; the scent of flowers will compete with the wine. But have you ever experienced a summer when you can sit outside and have dinner every night?
In fact, it is much harder to taste wine outdoors than indoors. It probably depends not only on the aromas of the surroundings but also on the wind that makes it harder to feel the aromas of the wine. We always avoid having serious wine tastings or serving really exclusive wines outdoors. It is not fair to the wines.
Even winemakers can usually take it easy during part of the summer. It depends, though. In France, some take a couple of weeks off in August. At this time, the vines can take care of themselves fairly well on their own. It is only a month or so until it is time to harvest, and the vines are largely self-sufficient.
However, it has happened that the maturation has come faster than the winegrowers expected. They have to rush home and hunt for the secateurs or refuel the harvesting machine.
This year the weather has been tricky, and the harvest will probably be a little later than usual. So, the August holiday is perhaps saved. As usual, it all depends. The winegrowers are just as much dependent on the forces of the weather, just as the holidaymakers. However, a bit more is at stake. It’s about the whole year’s income.
No matter how unpretentious the summer is, do not forget to chill your wines. Even the red ones are tastier a little cool. They heat up quickly in the glasses. Here’s some advice and tips on how to get the wine at the right temperature: Serve your wine at the right temperature.
Wine tours
We are looking forward to touring the vineyards again. Perhaps you do too? Life slowly begins to return to normal.
We make wine tours for the wine lovers that want to experience something special. Visit the most interesting growers. Enjoy the best wines and gourmet meals. Wine tours that give you that little extra (or much extra, actually) that no one else can give.
On the program we have three extraordinary tours to the southern hemisphere beginning of 2022. We are right now planning for more tours during 2022 and we will have dates and more information for you within a few weeks.
You cannot have a better cicerone – more experienced and more wine-knowledgeable – among the vineyards.
We have written 11 wine books. Arranged many hundreds of wine tours on four different continents. We have been asked to assist as consultants or experts in wine tourism by, among others, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), USAid, Vinitaly and many others. We have organised wine tours for more than 20 years.
We hope to meet you in the vineyards shortly.
Enjoy the Brief!
Britt & Per
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What’s on at BKWine Tours
BKWine is also one of the world’s leading wine tour operators. Here’s what we currently have on our scheduled wine tour program:
- Chile-Argentina, January 17-30, 2022
- South Africa, February 9-18, 2022
- New Zealand, March 10-25, 2022
We also make custom designed wine tours.
We’re different than most other wine tour operators. We are people who know wine inside out, who travel constantly in wine regions, who write award winning books about wine. Who do this out of passion. Our tours are different from others. More in wine tours: BKWineTours.com.
