Pair These Bold Red Italian Wines With Blistering Summer Heat

Many lean into their wines seasonally, often emphasizing red wines for cool evenings of autumn and winter, pairing them with heavy, beefy long meals by a fireplace; or they select light and crisp white and rosé wines for the warming snap of spring and the sizzle of summer.

The opposite also works—enjoying the resonant complementarity of a crisp, precise cold white wine on a frigid, clear, icicles-in-view winter evening while seated (not for too long) on a porch, or pairing the blustering power and dominance of a beefy red wine with the heavy characteristics of oppressive heat on a searing summer afternoon.

As with wine/food pairings—both contrast and complementarity can work well when pairing wine types with season.

Below are eight hefty Italian red wines to pour on a blistering hot afternoon this summer.

Tenute della Famiglia Cecchi. Villa Cerna Chianti Classico Riserva. DOCG. 2018. 93 points.

Quiet aromas of blacktop, licorice, cranberries, pencil lead and blackberries. Flavors of molasses, red cherries—seductively smooth with a backdrop of firm tannins. 20,000 bottles produced annually.

Tenuta della Famiglia Cecchi. Villa Rosa Chianti Classico Gran Selezione. DOCG. 2018. 93 points.

This wine has the color of bricks and Nebbiolo. Aromas of mandarins, some honeydew melon, cherries and slight mint brittle. A complex and layered wine with flavors that include a meld of honey, oranges, toffee and Amarone. Delicious juice with clean and bright acidity and well-structured, though low-key tannins. Pair with pasta and ragù sauce or a butterscotch desert. 4,000 bottles produced.

Tenuta della Famiglia Cecchi. Villa Rosa Ribaldoni Chianti Classico. DOCG. 2018. 90 points.

100% Sangiovese. Aromas of red cherries, blackberries, earth, mushrooms and dark chocolate. Well balanced with smooth tannins, flavors of red plums, and well integrated acidity. 6,000 bottles produced annually.

Azienda Agricola Brigaldara. Amarone della Valpolicella Classico. 2017. DOCG. 90 points.

Deeper dark plum color in this 16.5% alcohol wine. Aromas quite light and festive and include red plums, sage, gorse and eucalyptus. A lightly structured wine with soft red fruit mid palate and some fiery acidity and salty licorice on the finish. Somewhat of a wine for brooding. Pair with dark charcuterie or biltong.

Azienda Agricola Brigaldara. Amarone della Valpolicella Case Vecie. 2016. DOCG. 91 points.

The color of prunes or darker Nebbiolo. A chocolate factory on the first nose, with candy cane, cherries, some eucalyptus aromas following. Solid though unobtrusive tannins, gripping acidity and a river of dark plum, mocha, Kit Kat chocolate and prunes mid palate with some sage and vanilla on the finish. Pair with a beef stew—perhaps wild boar—that includes a salty, spicy sauce and plenty of herbs.

Azienda Agricola Brigaldara. San Floriano Riserva. 2012. DOCG. 92 points.

A gorgeous light Nebbiolo color in this 16% alcohol wine. Aromas are layered, complex, joyful and slightly spicy and include some petrol and candy cane and mint crisp. A festive, well integrated mouthful of flavors that include tangerines, sage, black pepper, slight butterscotch and a crisp and long finish with oranges and mint. Pair with a goulash or a seriously hefty chocolate cherry cake.

Tenuta Argentiera. Bolgheri. Ventaglio. 2018. 90 points.

Aromas of roasted coffee, plums, cherries and some herbs in this rich wine, with flavors of mocha, German chocolate cake. Suave tannins, a lick of minestrone and apricot on the finish. Pair with charcuterie and goat cheese.

Tenuta Argentiera. Bolgheri Superiore. DOC. 2019. 89-90 points.

Grounded and earthy aromas and the smell of Tuscan wine country instantly pours out. Aromas of cherries, red plums, some black licorice and morel mushrooms. The acidity bathes the red fruit flavors and the tannins are firm, yet still supple. Easy drinking and delicious and ready to pair with a pork loin or a vegetable and apricot tagine.