The sun is out and it’s time to get outside on the back porch, in the park, on the river, and in the woods. Summertime is why Oregonians suffer the rainy months. There’s no better place on earth than summer in Oregon.

And summertime means easy-drinking white wines and reds that complement whatever you’ve got on the grill. In the lingo of the wine biz, “porch pounders” are uncomplicated wines that go down easy and are affordable. Too often, the mass-market porch pounders are silly, overly sweet, entirely forgettable wines.

But here’s the good news: These days, top winemakers are making high-quality and complex wines that are perfect complements to your summer.

Our reds are deep, dark and luscious – and perfect for anything that comes from your grill. Our first red is a unique blend of Syrah, Tempranillo and Petit Verdot from an artist-winemaker at Dominio IV Wines. We’re excited that our second red , a blend of Pinot Noir, Syrah and Merlot, comes from Copper Belt Winery in the Snake River Valley AVA. With this wine, we’ve now featured wines from all 18 Oregon AVAs!

I’m thrilled to be featuring the White Pinot Noir from Seufert Winery again as our first white. This was one of the most popular wines we featured last year and we’re excited to be bringing it back! Our second white is a unique and savory Grenache Blanc from natural winemaker Joe Swick of Swick Wines.