Summertime, and the drinking is easy

The first job of a wine is to be delicious. In summer, job No. 2 is to be refreshing.

Weighty wines need not apply. Even the oak-free chardonnays can be a bit wearying in our abbreviated warm season. Instead, the optimum summer quaffer needs to have some acidity and minerality. Yes, even the sweet ones (actually, especially the sweet ones).

So we searched the world over for refreshing $15-and-under whites -- with some effervescence acceptable -- and landed largely in a predictable place: the Mediterranean, source of well over half of our favorites.

We started with France, which is appropriate given its place in wine history. At present, and contrary to its reputation among many, France is producing as many great inexpensive whites as any country. The Foncalieu Cuvée Prestige Languedoc Picpoul de Pinet ($10) fairly defines summer, with waves of fruit flavors and a remarkably fresh finish.

The Loire region is a dandy place to find value, and the La Forcine Vouvray ($12) is a great example. The epitome of ripeness, this off-dry chenin blanc has a vibrant mouth feel and vigorous juiciness.

Just as mouthwatering is the Chateau Bonnet Entre-Deux-Mers Blanc ($13), a classic semillon/sauvignon blanc blend from Bordeaux. There's some nice grapefruit on this baby (but not the excess that is marring sauv blancs from New Zealand) and a surprisingly lengthy finish.

Even longer is the Chateau Jolys Jurançon Sec ($15), which somehow is both tart and juicy, with lots of wet stone and citrus elements. A lot of white wines have this kind of alluring floral aroma, but few also boast the exquisite texture of this 50-50 blend of gros manseng and petit manseng.

Never heard of those? How about viura, which is little-known but often enjoyed as the primary white grape of Spain's Rioja region? The Cune "Monopole" Rioja Blanco ($15) is an exemplary offering, with layer upon layer of fruit, minerality and acidity and an appealing persistence.

Another Iberian delight: the Quinta da Murta Bucelas ($13), made with the arinto grape in a region just north of Lisbon, Portugal. It starts tangy, but smooths out and becomes downright friendly.

At the other end of southern Europe, the Skouras Roditis-Moschofilero ($8) blend evokes its Grecian homeland: simple and sunny, light and lively, and a great match for lemony fresh fish.

Also a seafood lover, and a surprising one at that: the Golan Heights "Galilee" Moscato ($15), like fruit cocktail in a glass but with enough firmness and focus to surpass moscato's usual aperitif or dessert status.

That's a great "moving up" wine for the burgeoning bevy of moscato lovers, and so is the Seven Daughters Moscato ($14) from Italy. This is a dangerously quaffable beauty -- fortunately, the alcohol is only 7 percent -- that would go with any pie imaginable but has just enough sturdy minerality to be served throughout dinner.

The Veneto region also is home to the Soave wines that have gotten a justifiably bad rap in recent decades. Bottlings such as the Vicentini Agostino "Vigneto Terre Lunghe" Soave ($12) could change all that, with its exhilarating array of melon and stone-fruit flavors.

Bubbles, anyone? In Veneto that usually means Prosecco, but the durello grape is another swell option. All those "z" words -- zingy, zesty, zippy -- apply to the Marcato iPrandi Lessini Durello Brut ($14), which would be equally at home over dinner or at a wedding.

And yes, there are some New World (non-European) offerings worth checking out. The off-dry Bush Camp "The Sundowner" Chenin Blanc ($11) from South Africa is surprisingly nimble on the palate and simply lovely at the end.

Many California sauvignon blancs tend toward being round, if not fat, and more suited for spring and fall. But the Mercer Columbia Valley Sauvignon Blanc ($14) is bright and brisk, with nice herb and spice notes enlivening the perfectly ripe fruit.

In other words, the very essence of refreshment.

Bill Ward • 612-673-7643