It’s high summer, friends. By now, you’ve had your fill of session beer, frozen cocktails and forgettable rosé. Let’s get into something a bit different.

Below are notes and scores for some bubbles, whites and even a few amber (i.e., orange), wines to keep you properly and creatively refreshed for the rest of the summer. 

Sparkling Wines for Celebrations and/or Lazy Afternoons

Amongst the fizz, don't miss:

• Villa Sandi 2021 Valdobbiadene Brut Superiore di Cartizze La Rivetta: Cartizze is the most coveted vineyard amongst all of the vineyards that make Prosecco. Many Cartizze wines are made in an off-dry style, but this is "Brut" or dry, which makes it doubly special.
• Champagne Henriot 2012 Champagne Brut: when you need to get classy, you buy vintage Champagne and you buy the best vintage (by far) in the last decade.

Beyond Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc

Head to Sicily for Grillo, a native grape that produces lightly fruity wines that often have a sea salt tinge:

• Mandrarossa's 2022 Grillo is great for a picnic on the beach. While you drink it, chill down the Bertolino Soprano Bianco 2020 for the dinner table.
• Cusumano's Salealto Tenuta Ficuzza is a sassy blend of Grillo and two other local grapes that will knock your socks off. Plus, check out their delicious 100% Grillo Shamaris Tenuta Monte Pietroso.

Intriguing Alternatives for Oaky Chardonnay Lovers

• Remember Gavi—one of Italy's first white wines to make it big on the global stage? Hic et Nunc's 2021 Cortese MonOlite takes Gavi's famous grape (Cortese) and applies just a smidgeon of oak veneer.· 
• Hailing from the same Piedmont neighborhood in northwestern Italy as Cortese is Tenuta Carretta's 2020 Roero Arneis Riserva Canorei. The Arneis grape was almost extinct 30 years ago. Today, it's arguably as popular as Cortese. The oak shines brighter here, but there's even more complexity. Decant this (yes, you can decant whites), and enjoy.

Big Flavor from Far-Flung Places

• Colomé's 2022 Torrontés Estate from Argentina's Calchaquí Valley hails from some of the highest vineyards in the world. Firmly dry, unoaked and exotically aromatic, this is great on its own or at the table.· 
• Spain's Tinto Pesquera 2020 El Vínuculo Alejairén is made from the world's most-planted grape, Airén. (Chardonnay is #2.) This is an intellectual's wine for sure. Though it's red-ish gold in color, it's not a skin-contact wine. It's a no-tannin zone. Rather, there's lots of oak intensity and mouth-coating texture, but it, too, is entirely dry. Another white to decant!