Lively Summer Whites

When temperatures venture toward the mid-thirties and you are sitting outdoors with the sun on your back, there is nothing more refreshing than a glass of well-chilled white wine. The wine should be something light and lively with more subtle hints of taste, but nothing very heavy or overtly mouthfilling.

What is needed is a wine that will quench your thirst and cleanse your palate at the same time. This is not the time for heavy barrique whites with predominant oak and vanilla. As a key consideration, try for cool and crisp fruit flavours with zingy acidity. Choose a grape that can offer a crisp, fresh bite with a relatively low alcohol level. (Aim for 11-12.5%).

There are a number of indigenous, almost forgotten and close to extinction white Cretan grape varieties on the Island, such as Vilana, Dafni and Thrapsathiri, all of which are excellent for summer drinking and for the lighter foods that are eaten in summer, such as cheeses, fish and seafood, because of their firm, lemony fruit feel and burst of acidity. These grape varieties have been lovingly brought back to life by a few forward-looking wineries, such as the Lyrarakis Winery, just outside Heraklion.