Vaucluse Values
by Will Meinberg
Summer in my hometown of Royal Oak, Michigan, holds some of my fondest childhood memories. I would spend all day in the backyard with my best friend, Kevin, chasing bees and playing tag, stopping only to ride our bikes up the street and gorge ourselves on ripe mulberries. When night eventually came, the fun didn’t stop—we would just switch to catching frogs and playing flashlight tag. After moving out to California three years ago, I found myself missing that longing for summer I once had. The rhythm of the seasons that I had built my life around was gone, and there seemed to be no clear line between winter and summer. Thankfully, now I have a new marker of the year. The arrival of new vintages emerging from their winter slumbers is my sign that summer is quickly approaching. Here are two wines that I think perfectly encompass the wonderful summer season, and I hope they become something you look forward to each year.