20 Wines to Drink Right Now
The best summer wines are lighter weight, less tannic, lower in alcohol and take to a chill, and they are always refreshing.
By Eric Asimov
July 3, 2025
The temperature in Manhattan hit 100 degrees recently — nearly 40 for the Celsius crowd — which is a good reason to think about how to approach wine in the summer heat.
Do seasons matter at all anymore for wine? Air-conditioning changes the game somewhat. Do you dress for the heat on the way to the restaurant? Or for the hours of chill in the refrigerated dining room?
Regardless of the temperature swings, I would argue that we feel different in the summer, more languid and enervated no matter the conditions.
I don’t believe that summer wines ought to be restricted to whites and rosés, to be stashed away in favor of reds at the autumn equinox. But I am drawn to more refreshing wines in the summer, served colder, which argues for bottles of all colors that are generally lighter in weight, in alcohol and in tannins. Not always though. Grilled meats are great with discernibly tannic reds, served cool but not cold.
Last month I went shopping for 20 bottles that met my loosely held criteria for summer wines and that cost less than $20 a bottle. I’ve long believed that $15 to $20 is the range for finding many great values. Sometimes you can spend a bit less, sometimes a little more, but neither inflation nor tariffs seem to have altered this basic equation.
Tariffs and inflation have changed the sorts of wines in this price range, though. Bottles that a year ago fit perfectly are now a little too expensive. Other wines take their place, though, maybe from less widely esteemed regions or perhaps made from lesser-known grapes.
Being open to exploration helps. So does having access to a great wine shop willing to do the work of culling through the myriad mediocrities to pick out the good bottles. Nothing is more important to drinking well than a shop staffed by passionate, hard-working wine lovers.
Even the best shop won’t have all these bottles. But good shops are happy to offer similar alternatives. Or you could consult past 20 Under $20 columns.
Here are the 20 bottles, beginning with the least expensive.
Folk Machine California White Light 2024, 12.3 percent, $19.99
Hobo Wine Company offers a number of labels showcasing wines from different parts of California, all made from organically grown grapes. Folk Machine is a line of oddball wines like White Light. The 2024 is made of tocai friulano, albariño, Verdelho, vermentino and sauvignon blanc. Put them all together and you have a seamlessly integrated wine, fresh, alive and full of character.
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