“Happy Hour” Wines | The Beachside Resident

By: Leslie Cramer

Article Category: Wine Life Leave a Comment

Which wines are correct for a happy hour? The answer is that there is no right answer. The choice of an aperitif is personal and varies widely among wine drinkers.

A century ago, it wasn’t customary to drink anything before sitting down for a meal and any social drinking took place at dinner’s end. Sparkling wine, if there was any, was drunk at that time or with the meal, while sherry or port may have been served afterward.

Times have changed, of course, and drinking wine or hard spirits for an hour or so before the meal has become commonplace. Done on an empty stomach, however, it becomes an assault on the senses and loses its purpose as a means of priming the stomach for the meal to follow. Anything eaten will likely taste pretty much the same, and at that point, wine that should be savored can barely be tasted, let alone appreciated.

The term “aperitif” means an alcoholic drink taken before a meal as an appetizer. The right kind of wine, if not overindulged in, should help not only to stimulate the appetite, but also take the rough edges off a long day or week.

Sweeter tasting wines don’t make good aperitifs because they tend to suppress the appetite. Wines that do make good aperitifs should be relatively dry and high in acidity, making them refreshing. They should be moderate in alcohol content and comparatively light-bodied. Most are white, but a few pinks and reds may fit the bill as well.

Dry sparkling wines are ideal for aperitifs. The bubbles themselves can spark up the cocktail hour. Delicate and preferably dry, a brut French champagne would be perfect, as would a Spanish cava or a California sparkler made through the méthode champenoise process.

Among non-sparkling French wines, the optimal candidates would be a Loire, a Graves, an Alsatian, or a Moselle. Rieslings, too, from France or other good wine-producing regions also prove excellent as aperitifs.

Red wines, especially if they also are to be served with dinner should be light; possibly a Beaujolais or other lighter Burgundy. A French tavel rosé or a rosé d’Anjou would also be ideal.

An alternative classic would be kir (pronounced “keer”), an off-dry cocktail made from dry, white wine or brut champagne to which a small amount of crème de cassis is added. With the addition of a slice of lemon peel, an outstanding aperitif is born.

Seasonal conditions should be taken into consideration when choosing aperitifs. For warm, summertime evenings, an ideal aperitif would be a wine spritzer made with dry white wine mixed with a generous pour of club soda. Variations on this could employ ginger ale or a lemon-lime soda. Sangria, made with red or white wine blended with fruit juice and sparkling water and floated with sliced seasonal fruit, is also a delicious way to entice the appetite.

In wintertime and the cooler months, a dry sherry may be a popular choice. Sherries may be almost black or almost white, covering a wide spectrum in between. They may be bone-dry or sugary sweet, but stick to the drier ones for pre-dinner ocassions. Sherry may be close to perfect as an appealing aperitif, a powerful table wine with the meal, and with an after-dinner final course.

Remember the purpose of happy hour: to relax and unwind. Pop a cork on a nicely chilled sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio, and do just that.

Salud!