Light and bright with heaps of elegance, these expert-rated wines are the ideal sip for the season.
Balmy days and golden evenings call for wines with freshness and vibrancy. So too does lighter hot-weather fare and even heftier barbecue dishes welcome sleekness rather than indulgence in the bottle.
Wines produced in cool regions such as the lush valleys of Oregon, riverside vines of Marlborough and the steep slopes of the Mosel are characterised by heightened acidity, brightness and often a lower ABV than bottlings from warmer climes.
With sun-filled days and crisp nights, in these temperate regions grapes ripen slowly, offering more acid, lower alcohol and a purity of flavour that often results in intensely aromatic wines.
With global temperatures rising year-on-year, more cool-climate regions are becoming available for wine production, resulting in a surge of interest in this style. For example, the near meteoric rise of English wine, with some producers in Champagne even buying up plots of land in Sussex and Kent as temperatures in Reims continue to climb.
Tastes change too – no longer are a new generation of drinkers impressed by ripe, perfumed bottles. Instead, a hankering for minerality and fresh fruit drives some diners' perusal through a wine list.
And with drinking tailing off for those aged 62 and 80 to be replaced with a Millennial drinking rate of 81 per cent and Gen Z at 74 per cent, according to a report from beverage analytics organisation IWSR, this brighter style of wine has steadily risen to its current en vouge status.
While there will always be a place for the powerful bottles that dominate the upper echelons of a doorstopper wine list, temperate regions producing exciting wines with different tastes in mind are worth investigating.
Chosen by top sommeliers across the world as part of the World's Best Sommeliers' Selection 2026, from zesty sauvignon blancs to buttery chardonnay and crunchy, red berry-forward reds best served chilled, here are five cool-climate wines to seek out this summer.
5 cool-climate wines to explore
Mission Hill Family Estate Terroir Collection Cabernet Franc 2022
Carved into volcanic rock by slow-moving glaciers thousands of years ago, British Columbia's Okanagan Valley, home to Mission Hill Family Estate, offers cool nights and long, sun-filled days. As a result, the winery's Terroir Collection Cabernet Franc boasts vivid aromatics featuring a riot of herbs, spices and black fruit flavour. The 2022 vintage is sourced from select high‑elevation vineyards then aged in French oak, offering fine tannins and a silky texture alongside cranberry-like freshness and crunch. Pour out a glass with sirloin steak cooked in sage butter or duck confit.
Pyros Wines Vineyard Block N° 4 Malbec 2022
Made from vines grown in a single parcel with rocky soils and subject to intensely chilly nights, the grapes ripen slowly, allowing for both vibrant acidity and an inky black fruit quality with serious structure. This bottling from Pyros Wines in San Juan's Pedernal Valley is an excellent expression of cool-climate malbec with a full body, refreshing acidity and a palate packed with candied fruits and sweet spices along with a lick of limestone. To pair – meat is a must. Beef short rib or grilled ribeye with charred bitter greens will bring out its best.
Rose Family Estate Wairau River Sauvignon Blanc 2025
A brilliant example of classic Marlborough sauvignon blanc, the 2025 vintage from Wairau River sports a highly aromatic nose (think grapefruit zest and lemongrass) with a refreshing palate and a hint of salinity. Grown on the estate's distinct riverbed terraces, the grapes are harvested in the cool hours to preserve freshness, then are fermented in stainless steel for vibrancy. This zippy Kiwi cuvée will pair perfectly with a dozen oysters, salmon sashimi or sea bass.
Lingua Franca Estate Chardonnay 2023
A far cry from the oaky chardonnays maligned for decades, this well-rounded pour from Lingua Franca in Oregon's Eola-Amity Hills AVA is a clean, buttery expression of the area's distinctive climate and volcanic soils. Made from grapes grown on the winery's cool-winded slopes, the Estate Chardonnay 2023 is aged in French oak, resulting in a fresh, expressive nose and creamy texture balanced with racing acidity. Lean luxe for dish pairings with turbot meuniere, lobster linguine, truffle risotto or black cod with miso.
Karthäuserhofberg GG 2023
Made with riesling from 80-year-old vines grown on iron-rich slate soils in the Mosel, this wine is a testament to a remarkable vineyard and celebrates riesling in its purest form. Founded by Carthusian monks in 1335, Karthäuserhof is a Ruwer icon producing age-worthy rieslings with fresh minerality. The grapes in this bottling come mainly from the oldest plot on the estate, which, after fermentation in both stainless steel and oak, create a bright, racy wine with an aromatic lemon oil and apple nose and saline palate. To pair? Sashimi in a lime and sesame dressing, or Hokkaido king crab with miso butter if you're feeling flush.
Discover the full list of wines that make up the World's Best Sommelier Selection 2026.
