Drink This Weekend Edition: 3 porch pounders to drink all spring

Everybody likes a porch. Call it what you will: a stoop, a patio, a small deck, it’s a place where we grill, drink some wine and talk the hours away. Not every bottle of wine makes for a perfect porch pounder though. There are rules, people.

Rule No. 1: The wine must be affordable – no more than $15 a bottle.
Rule No. 2: The wines must be easy to drink. Folks should want another glass.
Rule No. 3: The wines must be served cold and ready to drink right out of the bottle.

Now that we’ve established ground rules, here are three perfect porch-pounding wines for every palate. Grab a bottle, call some friends and hit the porch.

1. St. Louis has received an influx of very good French white wine in the last few months. In spring and summer, I love the tang and grass notes of sauvignon blanc, but you have to be careful with this grape. It can be aggressive in some wines. Chateau Mayne Pargade Bordeaux Blanc is made with both Sémillon and sauvignon blanc grapes to give this highly drinkable wine more texture. It’s widely available around town, and Claymont Wines & Spirits sells it for a steal at $10.

2. Ubiquitous rosé is always wonderful this time of year. While they can be a bit sweet, southern France produces a fine selection of dry rosés. Languedoc Pic Saint Loup from Chateau La Roque is crisp, balanced and clean with watermelon and citrus notes, yet it has enough body and mineral to stand up to grilled food. You can grab a bottle at Lukas Wines & Spirits in Ellisville for $13.

3. Finally, few porch pounders can compete against a chilled red wine. The Lapierre family makes the wine for just such an occasion: Raisins Gaulois. Brilliant, bright red fruit and a hint of earth with just a touch of pepper make this perfect for outdoor sipping, and it is designed to be served chilled. A solid everyday wine like this can easily be found at a reasonable price; The Wine and Cheese Place regularly sells it for $13.

This article appears in May 2015.