August Seasonal Drinking Guide
Enter the Wild
In the northern hemisphere, August is a month of contrasts. The fruits are ripe, the days are long, but the shadows are lengthening, and the harvest looms on the horizon.
To drink well in August is to balance indulgence and intention. Lightness and grounding. Stillness and heat.
Here’s your August drinking compass — by wine style, mood, and moment.
Wines That Belong to August
1. Rosé with Structure
Forget the whisper-pale, patio-pounder stereotype. August calls for rosé with depth. Think rosé of Cabernet Franc from the Loire Valley, Nebbiolo from Italy, or Sangiovese from California. These wines walk the line — refreshing, yes, but earthy and complex enough to carry you into dusk.
2. Volcanic Whites
Etna Bianco, Assyrtiko, Carricante, Falanghina. These wines are electric. Born of ash and fire, they’re minerally and high-acid with a salty edge. Perfect for sweaty days and grilled vegetables. They speak of soil and survival.
3. Field Blends & Forgotten Vineyards
Nothing says '“back to the earth” like a wine born from an untamed vineyard. These blends, red, white or somewhere in between, come from old interplanted vines harvested all at once and co-fermented without fuss. They’re unpredictable, often unfiltered, and deeply tied to place. Drink them when you want to unplug, get your hands dirty or lose track of time. They’re wild by design.
4. Mountain Wines & High Elevation Gems
There’s something wild about wines grown close to the sky. Grapes that struggle at altitude on craggy slopes in the Alps, Andes or Sierra Foothills. These grapes often yield leaner, nervier wines with lifted aromatics and serious minerality. Think Jacquere from Savoie, Mencia from Ribeira Sacra or high elevation Grenache. These wines are quite rebels: resilient, elemental, and shapes by thin air and rocky terrain. They belong to hikes that end in thunderstorms and to the kind of solitude that brings clarity.
How to Drink in August (Ritual > Rules)
☼ Drink outside.
Even if it’s just your stoop. Let your glass catch the last of the golden hour. Pour something wild. Watch the light fade.
☼ Pair your wine with your playlist.
This month? Think folk-rock and velvet voices. Fleetwood Mac, Faye Webster, Hozier in a cave.
☼ Host a late-summer feast.
Tomatoes, peaches, corn, fresh bread, olive oil, salt. You don’t need to overthink it. Let the wine do the talking. Let the juice drip down your wrist.
☼ Leave room for something weird.
Try the bottle with a hand-drawn label at your local natural wine shop. Pick a grape you can’t pronounce. Get it slightly wrong. That’s half the charm.
☼ Pour a glass for the earth.
Literally. Pour a splash into the dirt, and thank it for the fruit. Honor the cycle. This is, after all, the first harvest.
August is for Slow Alchemy
You don't need a sprawling cellar or five-course tasting notes to drink well this month. What you need is attention. Curiosity. A willingness to slow down, tune in, and choose the bottle that makes your blood hum.
Wine in the wild is less about where you are — and more about how you drink. Less about rules — more about reverence.
So get a little messy. Follow your senses. Invite the earth to the table.
We’ll be right here with you — glass in hand.
