The Three Beverage Rule: Water, Coffee and Wine...
The no-rule rules of breakfast wine
Before I worked in video production, I worked in wine, and before I worked in wine, I worked in advertising, and before I worked in advertising, I worked at a six-person PR agency that represented wineries in Northern California and Italy. Drinking on the job was not unusual, and in almost every case, it was a teaching tool. The ad agency was another story. IYKYK.
Years ago, I worked at a wine bar, and every month I would drag myself out of bed for the 10:00 AM staff training to go over that month’s wine by the glass options and new cocktails [insert teeny tiny violin]. As the manager or sommelier spoke, I’d have the three beverage trifecta in front of me: a glass of water, a cup of coffee, and a 2-oz pour of inky Syrah, I’d swirl and sip along with the rest of the cocktail menu, all before noon.
To say I’ve had some fun jobs is an understatement.
This all brings me to breakfast wine1. A slight misnomer for wine that can be drunk any time of day, but carries a few characteristics that make it especially fun to drink before noon, pending, of course, your responsibilities. Wine that is so light and sippable, you could mistake it for a glass of juice. Bubbles are not a requirement (this isn’t brunch wine), but wine with an effervescence or semi-sparkling is a fun surprise. Alcohol levels (ABV) are perhaps the best differentiator. You want to aim for a wine below 12% ABV. And if the term “breakfast wine” makes you feel some type of way, call it “summer wine.” The no-rules rules are just the same.
5 Breakfast Wines to Enjoy Morning, Noon, and Night….
I made a video highlighting the virtues of breakfast wine on a day when you have < 10 Slack DMs or emails to answer and the weather is 80 degrees and sunny. I wish this for us all, for whatever occasion and for whatever time of day.
But on to the wines!
Bonnet-Huteau “Les Bonnets Blancs’ Muscadet 2023
Drinking a glass or two of Muscadet (made from Melon de Bourgogne grapes) reminds me of beach days when everything your fingers touch tastes like salt from the sea. This high-acid, light-bodied white wine from the Loire Valley in France has a salinity quality to it that makes it especially nice to drink whenever you have a mountain of seafood (mussels, oysters, scallops, etc) or salad to attack, and water will not do. Muscadet is citrusy, with notes of lime zest and lemon, and all around makes for a nice wine that doesn’t take itself too, too seriously.
Natural Mystic Vinho Verde Branco 2023
I’ve been a long-time fan of this white wine made in the Vinho Verde region in northern Portugal. I always liken it to a boozy lemon-lime soda because it’s full of citrus fruit and typically has a slight effervescence that makes it especially gluggable. This version from Natural Mystic reads more tropical (think melon and pineapple), which heightens the wine’s complexity, but keeps it fun.
Domaine Glinavos "Semi-Sparkling" Paleokerisio 2022
I poured this orange/skin-contact recently at a wine tasting event, not knowing how people would react to a Greek orange wine that was sorta sweet, and sorta sparkling. Most people loved it because of how refreshing, light, and unique it was. Made with two Greek indigenous grapes, this semi-sparkling, demi-sec (slightly sweet) wine tastes of apples and spice, without any of the, ahem, “mustiness” that you might expect from an orange wine.
Gaintza Bixigu Txakolina Rosé
For the folks who never abandoned rosé wine during the orange wine boom, this Spanish Basque region wine with a fun name (CHOCK-OH-LINA) is similar to Vinho Verde, with its low alcohol, high acidity, and slightly effervescent nature. Because this is a rosé, expect lots of strawberry, cherry, and mineraly notes.
Union Sacre Carbonic Sangiovese
This wine is JUICY, and is the only red wine I’m putting on this list, because it reminds me of eating cherry Jolly-Ranchers. Sangiovese is an Italian grape known for its dark cherry, spice, and herb-like notes that make great fuller-bodied red wines. This is not that. This wine from the Paso-Robles winery, Union Sacre, undergoes a winemaking technique called carbonic maceration, where whole grapes (not crushed) undergo fermentation within the body of the grape. This effect results in wines that are super fruit-forward and easy to drink [pool side, beach side, couch side, etc].
R.E.W.D.
What I’m Reading, Eating, Watching and Drinking this week…
READING: After picking up Octavia E. Butler’s dystopian novel, Parable of the Sower, I decided to pick up something “light” and read Beautiful World, Where Are You? by Sally Rooney. Jokes on me because Sally Rooney creates miserable characters whose actions invite even more misery into their lives. Rooney also has this habit of writing female protagonists who have this urge to please their male partners no matter the circumstances, and that...I can only read so many times (re: Normal People). The prose was good, and that is what I’ll take from the book. Rooney creates beautiful sentences and scenes that make you want to *star* it in pen.
EATING: I haven’t cooked anything too exciting the past few weeks other than doctoring up my Annie’s White Cheddar Mac and Cheese with chili crisp and eating roasted Japanese sweet potatoes with SALTED European butter. So good, easy and quick if you roast the potatoes ahead of time.
WATCHING: The Netflix adaptation of the Judy Blume novel, Forever, is a beautiful love story. I read the novel years ago as a teen and then a 20-something, and loved it for its realistic exploration of young love, first times, and sex. Since its release in 1975, the book has always been challenged or banned in school libraries, so I LOVE that a new rendition is being shown to a wide audience. This version takes place in L.A. in 2017/2018 and features two Black teens who fall in love. I cannot tell you how much it means to me to see this type of representation. Made me miss being 16 again. A must-watch.
DRINKING: I’ve been sleeping on the bar at Johnny’s Pastrami in West Adams. Skip the pastrami and go straight to the huge indoor bar or patio outside for a drink. I had the mezcal piloncillo cocktail, which tasted like a smoky and sweeter old-fashioned.
Until next time!
-Taylor
I think I’ve found it. My culture. Call it indulgent, but breakfast wine is my culture. Thanks for the validation (and solid recs.)