Summer is here and the heat is hitting us all.
If summer is here, it means it's very hot - and when it's hot, you're thirsty.
What do you drink? Wine. But not red wine.
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If you try drinking red wine, you suddenly won't understand what's so good about wine. A hot day is not suitable for heavy red wine, because the wine itself is warming, and after a few sips you start to sweat profusely.
So what - not drinking? God forbid.
In the middle of the week, of course, we won't drink. But on Shabbat and a holiday? After all, "there is no joy except in meat and wine," and we all know the song: "A great mitzvah to be in joy." This is not just a song, it is an explicit mitzvah in the Torah! The punishment of exile was because we did not serve God with joy.
Therefore, when it comes to Shabbat and holy days, a solution needs to be found for hot days.
The simple solution is an air conditioner. We can set it to a low temperature, sit with the Gemara or the Torah-Rashi and the Light of Life, and sip a full quart of good red wine, and behold, we are surrounded by joy on all sides.
But there is also a solution, not in retrospect, but from the very beginning: drink white wine.
But you have to look for the best wines. A wine store will be happy to help you with that.
The recommended drinking temperatures are as follows:
Heavy red wine - around 25 degrees.
Light red wine - around 20 degrees.
White/rose wine - 8-10 degrees.
Sparkling wine - 5-6 degrees.
Simply, when it's hot, you drink white wine.
White wine is much easier, in terms of actually making it. I'm not referring to the wines that are aged in wooden barrels after or during fermentation, for which it is usually customary to take grapes of the 'Chardonnay' variety. As far as I'm concerned, they are a 'red' wine, except that they happen to be white in color.
I mean a white wine that has fermented at lower temperatures and for longer than its red counterpart. Long fermentation preserves floral and fruity scents and aromas, and causes the wine to have a delicate crispness, and as such is no better suited to hot summer days.
Rosé wine is made like white wine, except it is made from red grapes rather than white (i.e. green) ones.
In general, as soon as the grapes are received at the winery, the skins/skins are separated from the must, and only the must is fermented without the skins. In rosé wine, the skins are left mixed with the must for a while, to obtain color, during which time the winemaker checks the must every few minutes to see if it has reached the color he wants.
When he decides that, "This is how I want my rosé," the grapes are separated from the must and fermented.
Maybe it's time to reveal to you that it is possible to make white wine from red grapes: if the must is immediately separated from the marc, the must will be completely white, because all the color in the wine [anthocyanin, this is the name of the color pigment] is found in the marc.
For our purposes, since summer is already here and it is "common" to drink white wine with dairy foods (something in itself is not so clear that it is correct, but this is not the place or time to argue about the subject) - so here are some of my recommendations for cold white wines that I have been drinking recently.
We'll start with a wine that is semi-dry, and has 111% alcohol.
• "Emerald Riesling Colombard"" From Carmel Winery, from the Private Collection series. It's available in every store and is not expensive, and is also very suitable for beginners. A delicate and light wine, citrus aromas, total 30 NIS.
• "2votes""A dry rosé, composed mostly of Grenache, about a third of Carignan and a little Mourvèdre. A new rosé that joins its red brother 4vots. A fresh wine with a delicate acidity (maybe too much), and a strawberry aroma, pink color (rose did we say?) 10.5% alcohol. Price: 50 shekels.
• "Puma Blanc"" Dalton's, made from Sauvignon Blanc grapes using the "Puma" method, part of it is fermented and stays for three months in wooden barrels with the lees, and the other part in stainless steel tanks. The origin of the name 'Puma' is the village of 'Poi Puma', where they used to put white wines in toasted barrels. Indeed, in the nose you can feel the subtle toasting of the barrel, along with scents of lychee and melon. 13% Alcohol. Price: 65 shekels.
• Another very interesting wine that I drank recently, it is a semi-dry red wine, but because it should be drunk very cold I decided to tell you about it. It is not available in Israel, although it is produced in Gal/Barkan, it is for export only. Its name ''twig'', It is made from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, and its flavors are very delicate red fruits, with a good and long finish. 12% Alcohol.
• "Domaine Saint Prix" "Chablis" - A Chardonnay wine that comes from the Chivley region of France, and more precisely from the village of Saint-Prix-en-Oineaux. It has fresh, youthful aromas, alongside young, fresh fruit. The acidity is reminiscent of Grand apples and there is a good residual flavor. Price: 130 shekels.
• Shraga Gebhard http://kosher-wine.co.il.Consultant in the field of kashrut and professional wine, to book wine evenings – 08-9742242 ('Events' office).
