I love lighter red wines, especially now with summer upon us. The kind of food I eat this time of year certainly changes, and it makes sense that the wine would change too. I love lighter reds because they somehow just taste right on a warm summer night; I love them because they make the food I eat this time of year taste good; I love them because they often come in at 12-13% alcohol, which doesn't sound like that much less than 14%, but certainly tastes less; and I just love the way these wines taste period.  (Most of these wines benefit from 15 or 20 minutes in the fridge, which is my ritual when it's warm out.)

Jon Bonné of the SF Chronicle agrees; for his article about the joys of lighter reds, click here “Reds that Tread Lightly”. 

In stock, we have the '08 Pelaverga from Verduno, the '09 Santa Magdalener from Mumelter, and the '09 Grignolino from La Casaccia. On the water we have Niklas Schiava, Le Fraghe Bardolino, La Sibilla Piedirosso and a new Santa Magdalener from Erste + Neue (new winery, wines arriving in a few short weeks!).