Weekend Wines for the Holiday

As I write this, the sun gods are suggesting we may get some decent weather today and tomorrow, so the plan is to look at six different wines that you can incorporate into your weekend whether your plan is to bike or hike, hit the beach, attend a barbecue, work in the garden, read a book or simply hang and do nothing.

No matter how you choose to spend your weekend, we wanted to make sure that you didn't have to spend too much time looking for today's picks. To that end, after we select by quality and price, each of today's wine should be widely available in government stores. We begin with a terrific little red from Argentina made by acclaimed Italian winemaker Alberto Antonini and company in Mendoza. Antonini, who incidentally is working with Okanagan Crush Pad in Summerland, is a site-driven, terroir-seeking winemaker whose style is always about less rather than more. Minerality and freshness are major traits of his wines, which almost always seek to be more sophisticated than alcoholic and rich or heavy.

Alto Las Hormigas Clasico Malbec 2010 is 100-per-cent Malbec grapes grown above the 800-metre mark on low-vigour soils in Lujan de Cujo and Valle de Uco. The wine is vinified separately, by site, before the final blend is made. It's aged using new French and American oak insert staves. The 2010 has an enticing mix of red and black fruit flavours streaked with dried herbs, pep-per, mineral and smoky notes. A classy, Euro-style red (showing restraint) suitable for a wide variety of grilled meats and birds.

Grenache from the south of France makes for a fun summer-style red that is long on fruit and soft on tannins. The Farmer Robert Grenache Noir 2010 sounds a bit cheesy for the French, but make no mistake, this Grenache is a winner for the price. Ripe and round, its intense raspberry fruit aromas and flavours lay over a rustic, earthy, tobacco-scented red that is guaranteed to disappear if you leave it on the kitchen table at any house party. It's been around for a while now but it is only get-ting better in the bottle. Think hamburgers to grilled chicken to young cheeses for food matches.

Another label that seemingly gets better every year, and always ages well for three or four years in the bottle, is the Ricossa Antica Casa

Barbera d'Asti 2009. The nose is fresh and bright with vibrant red plums, licorice, meat and pepper/floral high-lights. The entry is dry (Italian) and soft, the textures rich and dense with pleasant acidity that keeps the wine alive on the mid-palate. You will love the juicy, black cherry fruit with bits of almond, resin and ripe kirsch flavours. Real wine that is modern, clean and fun to drink - and good value, too.

If you are not a fan of the pungent aggressive Sauvignon Blancs of southern New Zealand, you have options. One of the best regions you can turn toward is the Loire Valley's Touraine appellation, a region just down river from its famous and much more expensive Sancerre cousin. Well-made Touraine Sauvignon is always a bargain and the Domaine du Clos du Bourg Sauvignon Touraine 2010 fits the bill. Expect a gooseberry, grapefruit, passion fruit nose with subtle jalapeño aromas and a light smoky, herbal note. The attack is crisp, the palate fresh with grassy, jalapeño, grapefruit, passion fruit, lemon flavours. Perfect for summer seafood like fresh, grilled squid or spot prawns.

If you are more of a big red wine drinker and are attracted to the soft fleshy warm fruit of Argentine malbecs, you may want to check out the Punto Final Malbec 2009, from Mendoza. We like consistency and this label is starting to deliver each year. Expect a supple, fresh peppery palate with mineral, savoury bay leaf and licorice notes mixed with black cherry flavours with a warm, black raspberry aftertaste. Grilled meat seems an obvious choice, but change up the presentation with a homemade chimichurri sauce to freshen the taste buds.

We conclude with one of the most reliable red blends: Australia Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008. Kudos to Peter Gago and crew for resurrecting this brand over the years and, more importantly, to Gago for being named as the recipient of the 2012 Winemakers' Winemaker Award, presented by the Institute of Masters of Wine and international trade publication The Drinks Business. Gago is the man who makes Penfolds Grange, arguably the most famous red wine of Australia, but he has long had a soft spot for the Koonunga Hill wines and you can see why when you taste it. Enjoy the pure fruit here, and the spicy licorice, black cherry, cassis notes. Expect a solid red blend that will perform well with myriad food possibilities. After decades, we know this wine mellows with age remarkably well.

Alto Las Hormigas Clasico Malbec 2010, Mendoza, Argentina

Price: $15

UPC: 00806145000017

Score: 88/100

Remarks: An enticing mix of red and black fruit flavours flecked with smoky, dried herbs.

Farmer Robert Grenache Noir 2010, South of France

Price: $15

UPC: 00328843045069

Score: 88/100

Remarks: Intense raspberry fruit aromas and flavours.

Ricossa Antica Casa Barbera d'Asti 2009, Piedmont, Italy

Price: $16

UPC: 851241000577

Score: 88/100

Remarks: Juicy, black cherry fruit with bits of almond and ripe kirsch flavours.

Domaine du Clos du Bourg Sauvignon Touraine 2010, Touraine, Loire, France

Price: $16

UPC: 03481730001005

Score: 88/100

Remarks: Crisp, fresh white with grassy, jalapeno, grapefruit, passion fruit and lemon flavours.

Punto Final Malbec 2009, Mendoza, Argentina

Price: $16

UPC: 098709085602

Score: 89/100

Remarks: Savoury, bay leaf and licorice notes mixed with black cherry flavours.

Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008, South Eastern Australia

Price: $17

UPC: 012354071445

Score: 88/100

Remarks: Pure fruit here with spicy, licorice, cassis notes.

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