What makes a great summer glass of wine?  First, I guess the heat of summer would be a good start and, with it now being July in Florida, all you need now are some wine ideas. Next, I would have a bunch of friends to enjoy the celebration of summer and wine. These are a few that I would recommend:

 A terrific warm weather wine choice is Sauvignon Blanc from the New Zealand wine region of Marlborough. This area is located in the northern part of the south island of New Zealand. These wines are very light, bright and food friendly. They are almost always done without the burden of oak-aging which really shows the grapefruit, pear and tropical fruit character of the wine. These make great wines to enjoy nice and chilled with fun times and friends.

   One of these enjoyable wines is Young Meg Sauvignon Blanc. It is full-flavored, steely crisp and at around $12.00 not hard at all on the wallet. It has been a New Zealand staple for a few years now, and  is a wine that goes perfectly with a fresh summer salad, chilled shrimp or all by itself to enjoy all the splendid summer flavors the wines from Marlborough have to offer. Another wine that you may want to try is Konrad Sauvignon Blanc. This a little more money at around $16.00, but for that few more dollars you get an explosive blast of fruit, acidity and pure wine drinking pleasure. This is a wine that makes your mouth start to water as soon as you get the glass near your nose.

 If your white wine drinking has only gone as far as Chardonnay, please do yourself a favor and go in a completely different direction and try these ultra-crisp, lip-smacking fruit bombs that are really made for this oppressively hot weather we are going to be dealing with for the next few months. There are many more choices of Sauv Blanc from New Zealand, but give these two a try and see what all the buzz about these Southern Hemisphere wines is all about.

 Ken Amendola

North Florida, Wine Supervisor