In the summer, my tastes move into the realm of rosés and whites, probably reversing the normal 75% red to 25% white ration of the rest of the year. Summers mean more lighter foods served cold, more seafood and salads and fresh vegetables from the garden.

Today, my go-to whites for this summer are featured. We’ll look at rosés in another post Thee wines seem to change each year, a factor of things like availability, special bargains that arise, and my own shifting tastes. A few years ago, Dorianne and I were visiting Laetitia Winery north of Santa Maria and discovered that they were selling their very nice Sauvignon Blanc for $60 a case. That became our go-to wine for the rest of that summer!

This summer, there are two, and they are both from France. The first is Les Portes de Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc (2012) from Trader Joe’s. It sells for $6.99 and is a very nicely-crafted single varietal from Bordeaux. We tried a bottle in early June and have been buying it ever since. It is simply a very nice every day white wine.

The second is Louis Latour Chardonnay Grand Ardèche (2012). It sells for $10.99 and is available in lots of places. For an every-day wine, it is very well-balanced and pairs well with a variety of dishes. Dorianne made an Italian sweet onion soup last night, and the Latour was a perfect match.

We have also had a couple of nice bottles of Sancerre Blanc from DOMAINE HIPPOLYTE REVERDY, a Kermit Lynch Wines pick. I purchased this  at Total Wine and Spirits for $23.00 and have returned to buy more. It is a very nice, well-crafted special occasion wine. We were motivated to try it as we are following the New York Times Wine School each month with friends, and Sancerre was the wine last month.

In finding your own go-to whites, I suggest that you spend some time exploring and keep your eye out for bargains. Remember, you expect a $50 bottle of wine to be good – when you find a bottle around $10 that you enjoy – that is a find!

Let me know your favorite summer whites in the comments.