Chilled reds, dreamy rosés and lively whites: your August bank holiday wine guide

Every year, my birthday celebrations fall on the August bank holiday weekend. Because of this, I used to vie for my friends’ attention against Reading and Leeds festivals. These days, I’m competing with long weekends in Marseille and Notting Hill carnival. There’s just no competition.

So, this year, I held my birthday three weeks early, at a lovely restaurant called Saltine in north London. Many told me this was a classic Leo move (jokes on them, I’m a Virgo), but everything I supped that day got me thinking about what I might actually drink come the weekend itself.

I’m not much of a seasonal drinker (I’m more of a “whatever I like, whenever I like” type of girl), but your bank holiday weekend activities are likely to necessitate something cold and easy-drinking, so we’re drinking to regulate temperature as much as we are for pleasure.

White and rosé, then. In terms of whites I’ve been reaching for txakoli (cha-koh-lee), a tasty, so-lively-it’s-effervescent white wine produced in the Basque country. It’s low-alcohol, which is a good idea if, like me, you tend to accidentally drink wine for refreshment and end up getting a little more merry than expected. What grows together goes together, so drink this with raw or grilled seafood.

I’m also really enjoying moschofilero at the moment. In terms of Greek wines, I feel like keen drinkers are pretty au fait with white assyrtiko and red xinomavro as Greek wines grow in popularity. Might I suggested moschofilero? It’s a white grape with a pinky skin (so a bit like pinot grigio/pinot gris) mostly grown in the Peloponnese region. The aromatics are intense, with flowers and spice, which I feel closely resembles gewürztraminer. You can get this as a white wine, or because of the pinky skins, a skin contact-style wine, with a dreamy sunset hue. I’d drink this alongside a summer salad with grilled peaches, or any soft, sharp cheeses like goat’s cheese.

Chilled reds are also something I will always be banging the drum about, particularly for barbecues and picnics where the food is likely to be a bit more robust than light seafood or summer salad. Think grilled meats, charcuterie and cocktail sausages. I lean towards the lightest french reds for this: gamay, pinot, cab franc, grolleau and the like. Keep an eye out for young wines that are pale in colour – these are most likely to be the least tannic. Serve them straight out of the fridge and if you’re a slow drinker, or if it warms up in the glass and becomes unpleasant, feel free to pop an ice cube in there. Desperate times call for extreme measures, and who am I to tell you how to enjoy your wine?

One for the kids | There are people saying that Vittles’ Kids Season is one of the best things the food publication has produced. I’m one of them. As someone who was raised by a mother who would only let me have sugar on the weekend, I particularly enjoyed Tim Anderson’s piece on the scams present everywhere in the marketing of kids’ food.

My own Edinburgh festival | I’m in the city and so, so excited to discover and revisit some of my favourite restaurants there. I’m going to Sotto in Stockbridge for some lunchtime pasta, and Montrose after sampling head chef Moray Lamb’s cooking at Half Cut Market earlier this month. Natural wine lovers should check out Timberyard.

An unexpected summer fave | Wine aside, I do love an alcopop. And I’ve become addicted (in a cute, fun way) to Minus 196 lemon, shochu and vodka. It satisfies that craving for lemon sours I’ve had since I got back from Japan. No mixer required. Yum.

Dongnae, Bristol | ​“Delicate, bespoke and thoughtful” is how Grace elects to describe the menu at Dongnae, billed as “a traditional neighbourhood Korean barbecue restaurant”. “But,” as Grace says, “it’s actually a little stranger and more homespun than that.” There, you’ll find hot grilled mackerel and wagyu sharing table space with octopus and lamb fat skewers, and hand-dived scallops cosying up with cockle and mussel bibimbap. It may not be to everyone’s taste, Grace notes, but it’s “an ornate feast of sweet, sour, sharp, puzzling and powerful”. Read the full review here.