THE weather won\u2019t matter. Dry and bright would be ideal for stoking the grill, but even muggy heat or dispiriting drizzle won\u2019t stanch the joyous sense of letting go that arrives with Memorial Day weekend.
\nAside from the holiday\u2019s ceremonial importance \u2014 honoring the men and women who have died serving in the armed forces \u2014 the weekend means one thing to most: the unofficial start of summer. As with fashion and food, drinking assumes a more casual, easygoing tone.
\nYet the old rules no longer hold. Toss aside the stodgy, outmoded dogma of summer as white-wine season, for one thing. Bourbon need not be consigned to the recesses of the closet in favor of rum and vodka.
\nFor too long, seasonal drinking has been considered a matter of color: reds for the cold; ros\u00e9s and whites for the heat. Similar rules hold with beer. Friends may gasp as I drink a pint of Guinness in my shorts and sunglasses. They assume dark beers are heavy. But I just smile. Little do they know that Irish stout is crisp, dry and low in alcohol.
\nIt\u2019s not color that guides the choice of warm-weather beverages, but weight. Just as woolens give way to cottons and linens, so do heavier wines, beers and spirits yield to beverages with less ballast. What seems robust and warming in the bleak cold now feels ponderous and unwieldy. By contrast, what felt insubstantial back then is now refreshing and energizing.
\nPunch, for instance, is often associated with fall and winter holidays. Yet it can be made seasonal with the delicate spring sweetness of strawberries, and summery with the tropical tang of limes. Sure, you could settle for a bland base of vodka, but bourbon adds the perfect backbone of vanilla richness.
\nRed wines have their place, too. Why would anybody assume that in the heat of summer the desire to drink them simply evaporates? You\u2019re not planning to serve a Sancerre with that porterhouse sizzling on the grill, are you? Of course not. A hefty zinfandel or full-bodied cabernet sauvignon would be too much, but a good Chianti, of medium weight with refreshing acidity is just the thing, especially if you chill it ever so lightly.
\nCommercially, Memorial Day heralds ros\u00e9 season, a custom I cannot abide because I like ros\u00e9 year-round. Great ros\u00e9s \u2014 like those from Ch\u00e2teau Pradeaux and Domaine Tempier in Bandol; Ch\u00e2teau Simone in Palette; Valentini in Montepulciano; and my current obsession, Domaine Ilarria in Iroul\u00e9guy \u2014 are as fulfilling in the depths of January as in July\u2019s dank heat.
\nNot all ros\u00e9s are as versatile, however. Does anybody really want a heavy ros\u00e9 in the midday heat or while tending the coals before dinner? I don\u2019t think so. In most ros\u00e9s, a heavy dose of alcohol or a clumsy level of sweetness will unbalance the wine. The ros\u00e9s to look for are crisp, textured and refreshing.
\nFrom Provence, ros\u00e9\u2019s spiritual home, I like Ch\u00e2teau de Roquefort, Domaine du Jas d\u2019Esclans and Peyrassol. But good ros\u00e9s come from all over, like Spain, including Campos de Enanzo in Navarra and Los Bermejos in the Canary Islands; Shinn Estate on Long Island; and Arnot-Roberts in California, which makes an unusual but delicious ros\u00e9 from touriga nacional, a leading port grape growing in Lake County.
\nThey make ros\u00e9 in Champagne, too, many good ones. But nothing is particularly summery about them, and they are often heavier than the usual bruts.
\nIf you want a great summer bubbly, may I suggest Cerdon du Bugey from Renardat-F\u00e2che? This light-bodied pink sparkling wine has noticeable sweetness, but is beautifully balanced and stimulating as an aperitif or refreshing after dinner.
\nI mentioned a bourbon, strawberry and lime punch earlier. Made with elderberry tea and Angostura bitters, it is wonderful for a crowd: refreshing, tangy and celebratory. But if you don\u2019t plan a big gathering, simply diminish the proportions in the recipe here. It\u2019s offered occasionally at Prime Meats in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, where it was developed by Damon W. Boelte, bar director for the Frankies group of restaurants, who calls it Too Hot to Hoot and describes it as summer in a bowl.
\n\u201cBourbon and lime is a rare combination,\u201d he said. \u201cIt usually goes with lemon, but with all the other ingredients, they really play well together.\u201d
\nMore often than not, this weekend calls out for a beer or a few. I love the dry, snappy bitterness of a pilsner. Excellent versions are made in New York by Sixpoint and Brooklyn Breweries. Other good pilsners include those from Victory, Lakefront, Tr\u00f6egs and Pilsner Urquell.
\nI can\u2019t help but reiterate my love of K\u00f6lsch, the crisp, slightly bitter golden ale from Cologne, Germany, which I find so brisk and energizing. The three brands seen regularly are Gaffel, Reissdorf and S\u00fcnner, and I find a lot to like about each.
\nStout is not the only dark beer appropriate for summer. I especially like porter, too. But thoughts of summer beer would not be complete without a nod to Belgian and Bavarian wheat beers \u2014 fresh, spicy and intrinsically refreshing. Look for Belgian styles from Allagash, Hoegaarden, Southampton Publick House and Jolly Pumpkin; among the many producers of Bavarian-style hefeweizen, look for Franziskaner, Schneider Weisse, Brooklyn and Ayinger.
\nAfter ros\u00e9s, most wine drinkers reach reflexively at Memorial Day for whites, as if they\u2019re the equivalent of white belts and shoes: enjoyed for the summer and stowed after Labor Day. I hate to say it, but that thinking is as dated as instant coffee; sure, you\u2019ll have something in your glass, but why deprive yourself of so much pleasure?
\nI especially like reds that are lightly chilled, not to refrigerator temperature, but just enough to feel cool in the glass. Beaujolais, of course, but also Cerasuolo di Vittoria, the lovely, enticing light red from Sicily. Valle dell\u2019Acate, COS and Occhipinti all make excellent versions. Look also for frappato, one of the constituent grapes of Cerasuolo di Vittoria.
\nMany other Italian reds go beautifully with a light chill, whether Chianti, barbera, dolcetto, Valpolicella or lesser-known grapes like teroldego from Trentino or cornalin from the Valle d\u2019Aoste. And if you need a full-on refrigerator blast, how about an icy cold Lambrusco from a top producer like Lini, Medici Ermete or Vittorio Graziano?
\nOr perhaps one of the more restrained pinot noirs from the Sonoma Coast of California? Ross Cobb of Cobb Wines makes excellent pinot noirs that are delightful lightly chilled, particularly those from the Emmaline and Coastlands vineyards. From Spain, try the reds from Ribeira Sacra, a stunning site in eastern Galicia. I especially like D. Ventura and Gu\u00edmaro wines.
\nNow, just because I\u2019m touting reds doesn\u2019t mean I\u2019m immune to the charms of summer whites. Far from it. I love a crisp Sancerre, especially those that show the terroir rather than simply the fruitiness of the sauvignon grape. Look for producers like G\u00e9rard Boulay, Lucien Crochet, Domaine Vacheron and Thomas-Labaille. Rieslings can be superbly refreshing, whether the light off-dry style of a kabinett riesling from the Mosel; the sp\u00e4tlese-style late-harvest riesling of Hermann J. Wiemer in the Finger Lakes; or the dry mineral flavors of Ravines, a Finger Lakes riesling of a totally different style.
\nFor many people, chardonnay remains synonymous with white wine. Summer or winter, I\u2019ll never say no to Chablis, the most distinctive chardonnay in the world, and out in the Santa Rita Hills of Santa Barbara County, Rajat Parr, the Bay Area sommelier, sells deliciously balanced chardonnays under the Sandhi label.
\nWhat, you\u2019ve graduated to pinot grigio? Well, I have nothing against good pinot grigio. (Relegate the insipid ones to the mediocre restaurants of the world.) For good ones, producers like Elena Walch and Alois Lageder of Alto Adige have much to offer.
\nYou know, I\u2019m really just getting started. With any luck, it\u2019ll be a long, hot summer. <\/p>\n