I asked some of my favorite winemakers and the people behind several family-run wineries two simple questions: Which wine from their own label do they reach for in the summertime, and what do they like to cook alongside it?
Which of your wines is your favorite to drink in the summer?
2025 WHITE PRESSED PINOT NOIR. Just has so much purity, salinity, elegance. Pinot Noir fruit tones, but the vibrancy of a zippy white wine, Very refreshing.
What’s your favorite dish to pair with that wine?
A plate of fritto misto and a cold glass of Sylvaner transport me straight to the seaside. You can use this recipe all year, substituting whatever vegetables are in season. You can omit fish all together and do a full vegetable fritto, or vice versa to make fried calamari.
(Andrew included a recipe for fritto misto from his amazing sister Chef Kelly at the end)
Which of your wines is your favorite to drink in the summer?
My wine of the summer isn’t one bottle. It’s Massican’s style. Personally, I find myself returning again and again to coastal white wines from Italy that seem perfectly suited to warm weather and the Mediterranean table. Professionally, I would have to select my southern Italian-inspired white blend Gemina, a blend of Greco, Falanghina, and Fiano. These grapes, and this wine combine freshness, texture, and minerality in a way that has energy but feels effortless. Drinking Gemina reminds me that the best summer wines are not just refreshing, they make you want to linger at the table.
What’s your favorite dish to pair with that wine?
My favorite pairing at the moment for this white wine, and hopefully all summer long, Linguine and Clams.
Which of your wines is your favorite to drink in the summer?
I’m biased, and since we just released this wine, I just can’t get enough of it, so the honest answer is Table Wine. It’s a Beaujolais-style, so it’s light and fresh and fruity. For summer, I’m throwing it on ice to give it a quick cool down which just it a refreshing lift that hits the spot in the heat of summer.
What’s your favorite dish to pair with that wine?
Summer in our house is a hilarious confluence of chaotic and lazy. On any given day, we’re either doing everything (a mountain bike ride followed by a hike and a swim in the river and a spontaneous BBQ in the backyard with 10 friends), or we’re reading books, building forts, doing some crafts, and having a quiet family movie night. If I’m being completely honest, there isn’t a dish that I’m pairing with this wine as much as it is shared time. But, that being said, the dish that I find meets the same energy also happens to pair perfectly with the freshness of this wine: pizza.
Which of your wines is your favorite to drink in the summer?
Our summer time favorite is definitely Hers Vermentino!
What’s your favorite dish to pair with that wine?
With fresh oysters from the coast! It’s simple and perfect.
Which of your wines is your favorite to drink in the summer?
Our current release Rosé. We started to make Rosé a handful of years ago, made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes from Stanly Ranch in Carneros, notes of watermelon, rose petal, refreshing and bright.
What’s your favorite dish to pair with that wine?
With Rosé, it’s been perfect with a classic summer BBQ. Corn salad, potato salad (my favorite dish), burrata and peaches, grilled chicken, etc! It’s a wine I like to share with others and have everyone bring something to the table.
Fritto Misto and Lemon Aioli
Fritto
1/2 pound squid, cleaned, bodies cut into rounds
10 whole fresh anchovies, sardines, or bait fish
1 bunch of asparagus, ends snapped off and cut into halves or thirds
5 small artichokes cut into wedges
2 lemons: 1 sliced thinly into round to fry, 1 to squeeze over finished fritto
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups rice flour
1 tablespoon salt
3 egg whites
1 cup cold sparkling water
High heat oil for frying, such as bran, vegetable, or canola
Fill a pot about 1/3 of the way up with oil and heat to 375 degrees. In a medium size bowl, whisk together the egg whites and sparkling water. Combine the flours and salt in another medium bowl. Fry the vegetables first, because they will hold their crunch longer. Working in small batches, add them to the wet bowl, and gently toss to coat. Transfer to the flour and toss until they are well covered. Shake off the excess flour before placing them gently into the oil. Fry for about a minute until they have turned slightly golden and crispy. Remove from oil, allowing access oil to drip off before placing on a paper towel lined sheet tray. Season with salt. Continue this process until all the ingredients are fried. Use the second lemon to squeeze fresh juice on top.
Lemon Aioli
This is a classic, simple recipe that is delicious on a sandwich, used as a dip for vegetables or as the base of a salad.
1 garlic clove, pounded
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg yolk
1 cup mild olive oil or ½ cup olive oil and ½ cup neutral oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Put the egg yolk, garlic and salt in a bowl. Use a whisk to vigorously mix the yolk while slowly, slowly pouring in the oil, to create an emulsion. Be patient! If the emulsification feels like it’s getting too thick, thin out with some lemon juice. Once all the oil is incorporated, adjust seasoning with salt, lemon or garlic.
Savor and relish these final weeks of summer—there is still a full month left, despite what the world may have us believe. Raise a glass, prepare a beautiful meal, and gather together in celebration of the season.
Talk soon, Caitlin
Wonderful suggestions - thanks to all!
Great lineup! Thanks, Caitlin, for including me and Massican. And to Kelly for the Fritto Misto recipe!