Summer Wines to take you from the pool to the grill
A Sonoma field guide to chillable reds, rosés, jug wine, and the sparkling Syrah that beats Hamptons juice all summer.
Laying by the pool? Check. Solo glass while the sunset “gently” blinds you? Check. Sipping something while flipping shrimp on the grill? Check. Drinking wine while standing in a kiddie pool (no judgment)? Check. Washing down a homemade Ooni pizza? Check, check, check. But if you’re a little tired of the Hamptons juice, and the Cab is starting to feel more oppressive than the heat, let’s talk about where in Sonoma to go for wines that actually shine in summertime.
This is not a steak-and-Cabernet sermon. If you’re grilling a tomahawk, you already know where the Cabs live (and if you don’t, I’ve linked my favorite Sonoma Cabs in a separate post). This one is for everything else: the poolside hangs, the sunset apéro, the post-run alfresco brunch, the Ooni cookouts, and the vegetable grill roast.
The good news: a bunch of Sonoma winemakers have completely nailed this lane. Think wines that are fresh enough to live in your cooler but still have enough grip and savor to act like the sauce to whatever you’re cooking. Chillable reds, jug wines, sparkling Syrah that drinks like grown-up Lambrusco, glou-glou St. Laurent, Italianate grill reds, and pool-approved rosés.
We just covered Sonoma wineries doing awesome whites (definitely poolside and apéro-hour winners), so let’s pivot to redder territory: rosés, chilled reds, and the savory-but-fruity reds that sing by the grill.
Four summer lanes
To keep it simple, think of summer wine in four situations. Every winery here makes all kinds of wine, so you’ll probably find something for any occasion. But I’m trying to help you choose, so I’ve oversimplified on purpose, going with what each place is a favorite for, for me.
Poolside: pool, sunset, deck, plastic cup, no food, no shame.
Apéro-hour: snacks in the sun, drinking while cooking.
Light grill: salads, grilled veg, fish, grilled chicken.
Saucy and meaty grill: sausages, burgers, pizza, tomato sauce, BBQ glaze.
Idlewild, for red wine in the pool
Best for: poolside, apéro.
Idlewild is a favorite of mine for a reason. Go here if you want Sonoma to feel like northern Italy for an afternoon. Idlewild focuses on rare Piedmontese grapes, and the whole lineup is bright, savory, aromatic, and excellent with food. The whites are great (wrote about those last time), but the real reason Idlewild lands here is that any of the reds, with a slight chill, do faaaabulously in the pool. The Dolcetto’s black cherry plus that slightly bitter, spicy note reminds me of a Manhattan. If your pool vibe leans Mad Men and a DJ rather than floaties and piña coladas, Idlewild is your pool-match made in heaven (well, in Sonoma).
Ricci, for glou-glou reds and breezy Carneros evenings
Best for: apéro, light grill.
Go here if you want a family-run Carneros stop that feels personal, low-key, and a little off the beaten path (but still under an hour from SF). Ricci is a small, fifth-generation family estate in Carneros, famous for planting the first commercial St. Laurent in the U.S., a grape that tastes like Pinot and Syrah had a moody, spicy love child. The wines lean playful and small-production rather than formal, and these folks are not afraid to experiment.
The Chardonnay or Pinot Pét-Nats are an easy apéro match, especially with salty snacks, chips, olives, and cheese. The Saint Laurent and Pinot rosé are so juicy you’re unlikely to want to share, but they’ll slide quietly into grilled-fish or chicken duty when someone finally announces dinner. And Romeo, the carbonic St. Laurent, is light, fruity, low in tannin, and meant to be consumed generously. It’s the bottle you bring to the pool party when you have no idea what’s being served. It goes just as well with nothing as it does with pepperoni pizza, chips, and a sunset.
Want more wineries like this? Explore the full Noteworthy Guide.
Martha Stoumen, for colorful, slightly wild summer drinking
Best for: apéro, light grill.
Go here if you want wines that feel alive, creative, and a little Mediterranean in spirit. Martha Stoumen‘s downtown Healdsburg tasting room is cozy, moody, and intentionally unpretentious, and the wines lean Italian and Mediterranean: bright acidity, lower alcohol, and a playful natural-wine sensibility. Basically built for summer informality (low-intervention, colorful labels, chillable energy).
I’m a little obsessed with the Patatino (”little potato”), a rosé of Valdiguié and a whole bunch of other stuff, where notes of hibiscus tea get cut by a savory edge that makes it perfect for a more serious salad (Caesar, anyone?) or any light grilled thing. Her Rosato and a handful of lighter reds also make sense with snack plates, herbs, and those first bites coming off the grill.
Breaking Bread, for pool hangs and chillable grill reds
Best for: poolside, light grill
Go here if you want Sonoma’s most joyful natural-wine answer to summer: pét-nat, orange wine, chillable reds, and a tasting that feels more like hanging at a breezy winery bar than performing seriousness. Breaking Bread is the smaller, more experimental sibling of Kokomo, and the whole point is light, low-intervention wines with glou-glou energy and very little pretense. Tastings happen at Kokomo’s Timber Crest setup in Dry Creek, with a casual bar-and-patio feel and bottles that skew fun, fresh, and affordable (eh, for Sonoma, I mean).
For poolside, start with the Zinfandel Pét-Nat and Zinfandel Rosé. The pét-nat is bright, fizzy, and just wild enough to feel like summer in a bottle, while the rosé is zippy and fresh enough to drink before food even enters the picture. For light grilling, the Marmalade Orange Wine is the sneaky star, with enough texture for grilled veg, herbs, and snacky bites. And the chilled Gamay, Dolcetto, Al Dente, or Field Blend are exactly what you want while you’re flipping sausages and stealing bites of potato salad.
Jolie-Laide, for apéro people and lighter, weirder pairings
Best for: light grill, saucy grill.
Go here if you like wines that feel textural, cool, slightly unusual, and still very food-aware. Jolie-Laide is tiny, artistic, and minimal-intervention, with a tasting that feels intimate and production-space-adjacent rather than polished or luxury-coded.
For light grill, the Trousseau Gris and the higher-toned wines are excellent with salads, herbs, summer produce, and anything in the “farmers market plus grill marks” category. The Gamay, Trousseau, and Mondeuse are great when you want something savory and lifted rather than plush, ideal with sausage, peppers, herbs, tomato sauce, and char. A strong rec for pizza and charcuterie people who are tired of the obvious choices.
Emmitt-Scorsone, for people to whom food is life
Best for: light grill, saucy grill.
Go here if you want one of the most food-driven tasting experiences in Sonoma, especially if your idea of a great summer bottle is “what works while cooking and keeps working at dinner.” Emmitt-Scorsone is a micro-boutique Healdsburg project with three labels, but the real summer hook is Domenica Amato, the Italian- and Rhône-inspired side of the portfolio. Tastings are personal, often hosted by Palmer or Michael (owners/winemakers), and the wines are restrained and old-world-minded, made with native yeast and plenty of savory character.
On the lighter side, the Falanghina, Cortese, and the other whites and rosé have the acidity and salinity for grilled fish, herbs, summer veg, and salads that actually need a wine with some personality. For saucy grill, the Grenache, Barbera, Sangiovese, and the more savory blends bring enough fruit and spice for pizza, sausages, and richer grilled dishes without tipping into heavy-red territory (one of my favorite Sonoma stops for it, but don’t skip their outstanding Judge Palmer Cab, if you’ve got that Tomahawk).
Crux, for when dinner is actually being cooked outside
Best for: apéro, light grill, saucy grill.
Go here if you want Rhône varieties with California fruit and a tasting that still feels old-school and personal. Crux is a tiny Geyserville producer, and tastings happen in the barrel room with Brian or Steve (winemakers/owners), which is a big part of the charm. No chandeliers, no polished hospitality script, just very good wine and the people who made it.
For apéro, Crux works because the wines have enough freshness for the heat but enough structure for smoke, herbs, and salt. The Viognier and Grenache Blanc play nicely with the sunlight, and the GSM Rosé is especially good in that awkward pre-dinner window when you want something cool but food-capable. For saucier grills and pizza, the GSM red, Grenache, and Zinfandel all work, especially if your grilling runs to peppers, sausages, and pizza rather than steaks. The Rhône focus keeps things flavorful and leans into the fruitiness of tomatoes without getting weighty.
Sosie, for hot-weather snacking and the weirdly great sparkling Syrah
Best for: apéro, light grill, saucy grill.
Go here if you usually find California wine too ripe or too heavy and want something fresher, more restrained, and a little French in spirit. Sosie‘s tasting room near Sonoma Plaza is charming and easygoing, with a lineup built around bright acidity, earlier harvests, and minimal additives.
The off-beat apéro pick is the sparkling Syrah, one of the most useful hot-weather, red-adjacent wines in the whole piece: dry, bubbly, dark-fruited, and absurdly refreshing with charcuterie, cheese, and grill-side snacking when it’s simply too hot for still red.
Easy-format wines: Ryme, Preston, Portalupi
In case you already know that one bottle won’t be enough, how about some summer red in jug form?
Ryme: the Bag-in-Box Chilly Rouge for pool-to-grill drinking, and the Bag-in-Box Vermentino “Hers” for salads, fish, and deck snacks. Ryme is one of the clearest examples of wine that’s serious enough for wine people and casual enough to live in a cooler.
Preston: Jim’s Jug, for when your summer plan involves communal grilling, tumblers, sausages, bread, olive oil, and zero desire to open your third “special” bottle of the night. The most picnic-table rec here.
Portalupi: Vaso di Marina, the Cal-Ital jug lane, if your ideal summer dinner is pizza, sauce, and refillable glasses with a strong famiglia vibe. Their whole setup is built around food-friendly Italianate drinking.
Bon Appetit!
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