July in Texas sees summer in full force, so why not a group of tangy fresh white wines ideal for the summer table, whether indoors or out? Here are white wines that sing of the grape and the place they’re grown.

One of the pioneers of Oregon wine, Sokol Blosser was founded in 1971, and today the second generation is working along with founder Susan Sokol Blosser and wine maker Russ Rosner who joined the team in 1998. The estate follows environmentally sensitive viticulture and wine making, with a continued concentration on what they do best: Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris.

Oregon, along with Alsace, takes Pinot Gris seriously, aiming for a medium to full-bodied style that doesn’t rely on oak for impact. Serious Pinot Gris like this can be a wine of subtle, intriguingly smoky savouriness with a core of succulent fruit to its full, supple, tender texture. The richer, fuller versions are excellent foils to richly flavored foods such as poached or roasted salmon or chicken. Lighter versions pair well with summer seafood and pasta salads.

Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc 2004 Casablanca, Chile
Value

Casablanca Valley, located on the coast between Santiago and Valparaiso, has only relatively recently had vineyards planted in this cool-climate region. Similar in climate to Carneros and southern Napa Valley, Casablanca was primarily developed by Augustin Huneeus, who founded the Franciscan estates in Napa. Veramonte has Chile’s largest vineyard, over 800 acres planted to the classic Bordeaux red and white varieties. In this cool, fog-cooled vineyard, Sauvignon Blanc shows lovely passion fruit and grapefruit accents to the rosemary fragrant bouquet. On the palate, the 2004 is supple up front with crisp freshness on the finish. Flavors of passion fruit and notes of rosemary fill the palate in a medium-bodied wine. Bright, fresh and tangy this is a refreshing Sauvignon Blanc to serve with Texas Hill Country goat cheese as an aperitif or bright, lemon/lime flavored ceviche.

Zaca Mesa Roussanne 2003 Santa Ynez Valley, California
Premium

Zaca Mesa, founded in 1972, specializes in wines from Rhône Valley varieties, which do exceptionally well at the northern end of Santa Ynez Valley, 30 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean and at 1500 feet altitude. Roussanne is the rare white grape from the northern Rhône Valley where it is one of only two grapes (the other is Marsanne) allowed in the great and rare white Hermitage.

In California’s Santa Barbara Valley Zaca Mesa makes a full-bodied, plump, subtly aromatic wine from its eight-acre Roussanne vineyard, planted in 1999 to the Tablas clone, which came from Château de Beaucastel. Zaca Mesa ferments the juice in seasoned oak barrels and ages the wine on its lees for 10 months. This adds an extra dimension of texture to the wine without a heavy overlay of obvious wood notes. From its light golden color (typical of the variety with its russet-colored skins) to its full, supple weight, the Zaca Mesa Rousanne has subtle orange and Earl Grey tea notes in bouquet and in its flavor with its dry, savory finish. This wine really captures Rousanne’s haunting nuances of exotic aroma and flavor. Try with a saffron cream sauce served with sautéed poultry or seafood.

Casal Garcia Vinho Verde Portugal
Value

“Green Wine” is the translation of “Vinho Verde,” and “green” doesn’t mean unripe but fresh and tangy. Made from Loureiro (adds a laurel scent), Trajadura (for body), Azal (acidity), and Alvarinho (adds a peach note), Vinho Verde is grown along Portugal’s northern border with Spain. (Across the border-river Minho, Spain grows Alvarinho to make Albariño). In both areas the cool Atlantic-influenced climate and granitic soils make for a wine that is fragrant and lively with mineral and dry herbal scents. With its low 9.5% alcohol, its multitude of small bubbles adding to the wine’s freshness, this is a dry, crisp wine for refreshment on a hot summer day with a bowl of gazpacho (after some green olives and toasted almonds) or a plate of grilled Gulf shrimp.

(Note that this wine is from the 2004 vintage and was bottled in 2005. Look for the serial number on the back label which will have a forward slash / then the year of bottling. Since by law Vinho Verde cannot be bottled before January, this is as fresh a Vinho Verde as you can find in the U.S.)