Nothing says summer quite like a pop of a cork and gurgle of chilled wine being poured on a warm summer’s evening in the company of good friends on your winery estate at The Wine & Country Club.

But what defines a summer wine? With rosé finally breaking free of its strict summer boundaries and more people recognising that reds can be successfully chilled, it is time to rethink what makes a bottle fit for the sunny weather. Summer wines are all about sunshine and refreshment, they are easy to drink and look good in the glass—although we do not drink a wine solely for its appearance, there is something about catching the spirit of summer in a glass and capturing that in a picture that says ‘summer’ and creates golden-tinged memories.

Just in time for BBQ weather, let us revisit those old summertime friends that will work wonderfully with fresh seafood, light chicken dishes, salads, summer fruit puddings and alfresco dining.

Ideal Wines From La Melonera For Summer Drinking

The Wine & Country Club and La Melonera winery go hand in hand, to the point where we can barely imagine one without the other. They both share a life project and have a deep underlying emotion and passion for the region’s terroir. In addition, La Melonera is the heart and soul of The Wine & Country Club.

In 2003, La Melonera winery sought to revive a 3,000 year-old winemaking tradition for the benefit of Ronda (and that of the entire world).

For summer drinking at The Wine & Country Club, La Melonera wants to go a little bit off-piste and suggest a staple that makes a great summer wine – La Encina del Inglés. Fresh as a spring day, this wine is inflected with a salty edge and shows subtle maritime influences that give your palate a little slap and leave your mouth watering. La Encina del Inglés brings to mind the Mediterranean Sea and pairs perfectly with Malaga’s most typical and beachy dish: delicious grilled sardine skewers!

That rich, smokey, unmistakable and lingering smell of embers combined with the fresh aroma of sea air that drifts along the entire Malaga coastline, cries out for a young and refreshing white. And if it is made with local grape varieties, such as Muscatel, Pedro Ximenez or Doradilla, so much the better.

La Melonera Has The Perfect Summer Aqua Vitae For You

For all those who love wine all-year round, La Melonera offers some excellent choices. 

A signature wine, Yo Solo has rapidly become gold-standard territory bought by discerning restaurateurs and passionate wine aficionados the world over. About 500 bottles are released every vintage, making this red all the more exclusive. This is an Andalusian wine through and through, which is made with 100% Andalusian grape varieties—half Blasco, half Melonera—and is grown and produced with great care amidst centuries-old holm oaks. With wafting aromas of spices and red and black fruit of the forest flavours, the mouthfeel is silky smooth with well-blended resolved tannins, and very sweet.

Payoya Negra—a red named after the local breed of goat, with whose milk Payoya goat cheese is made in the Sierra de Cadiz and the Serrania de Ronda—is another of La Melonera’s wines that merit special attention. An ageing period of 12 months is all this personal Andalusian piece of gorgeousness requires to achieve utter perfection. Just the right blend of Tintilla de Rota, Rome and Syrah grape varieties, and a perfect cherry red colour with a tint of violet, Payoya Negra has a complex and intense aroma of sweet spices with balsamic notes and a discreet toasted lingering aftertaste. This wine’s vibrant personality has earned it many awards.

Now the only thing left to do is decide which wine has your name on it this summer.