not Canada’s fault ... blame it on advertising!

Why is it that as the weather gets better and the sun starts to shine, my drinking habits start to change? It’s a mystery — why I exchange my glass of Malbec for something much lighter. I don’t want to believe the idea that there is a thing called “summer wine ,”but the reality is I drink more white wine in the summer than any other time. I blame this on advertising.

Have you ever seen anyone frolicking on the beach with a glass of Cabernet? Or golf buddies drinking port wine after a round? Of course not. Summer, and anything on ice, is the norm in these enticing commercials. I will admit that something light and refreshing does have a thirst-quenching appeal, but let’s not forget that tasty red wine is always good, no matter what season.

Wine drinking in general is down, especially in Europe, where wine is so ingrained in the culture. It’s hard to imagine. In the States, wine drinking is lower, but still popular. The highest growth market for

By Marc Roland

wine is in the wine-based cocktails, low-calorie seltzers, and fruity wine drinks. Why? Because this is what a new generation of wine drinkers prefer, and marketing campaigns are built around trends. I don’t really mind. The fact is, wine tastes good in any form. Do the trends reach me and influence my decisions? Yes, and for the better. Summer wine is a “thing.” You should open your mind to it and try some of the offerings out there.

Let’s start with good old white wine. Not your grandma’s chardonnay, but some exciting and mouth-tingling whites from Austria and Portugal. My favorite is Vinho Verde (green wine). My friend Gerry turned me on to this gem a few years ago. This is the best value of white wine I know about. For under $10 you can get a quality imported wine from the Duero Valley in Portugal. Insanely crisp, with a bit of sparkle and dry enough to please even the most sophisticated pallets. Some may say tart. It’s the lemonade of wine. Try Gazela Vinho Verde (Cost Plus). Not far behind in summer goodness is a lesser known grape,

Grüner Veltlinner, grown mostly in Austria and the Czech Republic. Think lime, lemon, and grapefruit. Summer personified. The acidity will make your mouth happy and your stomach hungry. Sauvignon blanc and pinot gris drinkers will love the citrus notes, but will also enjoy the textural complexity, especially some veins of herb and pepper. Try Chateau Ste. Michelle Grüner Veltlinner (available at Total Wine, maybe Fred Meyer).

The other wine that screams summer is bubbly. Skip the Champagne and go directly to Spain. I’m sure you are familiar with Italian Prosecco, but the Spanish version is Cava. Cava will smack you with balanced citrus, melon, pear, and a pleasant acidity. Because Cava is made in the same style as Champagne, it’s a great bet for the times when you wish for Champagne but you do not wish to spend a fortune. Why don’t we drink more of it? It is affordable and festive. No summer party should go without it as a starter to a fun time.

Wine cocktails are delicious. Switch out your hard liquor for a few months and save on calories and high alcohol. No one wants to get dehydrated when its hot. Besides, you can drink longer and enjoy your activities more.

Spritzers and fruit-infused drinks are killing the market right now and there is a reason why. They are delicious and refreshing. The classic wine spritzer is a combo of white wine and sparkling water. Simple. Instead of reaching for a glass of wine, just add some H2O and you will outlast your more undiluted friends and wake up in the morning ready to start again.

If mixing your own drinks is not one of your attributes, you can try winebased seltzers by Woodbridge or a local favorite San Juan Seltzer (available at Safeway). The number one selling drink in America now is White Claw. Don’t be fooled. This is not wine, but manufactured malt alcohol. I highly recommend you try the many winebased seltzers. I will not think less of you if you bring a can or two to my next party!

What are you reading?

Monthly feature coordinated by Alan Rose

By Paula Stepankowsky

Paul Auster’s new biography of Stephen Crane is a brilliant blend of biography, history and literary criticism, as fascinating to those with a deep knowledge of Crane as those who are just learning about his groundbreaking work.

His war reporting, ironically done after he wrote The Red Badge of Courage, is well treated. While Crane’s skill as a novelist and short-story writer is known, his work as a muckraking journalist receives much-needed attention.

So much of what he wrote about — class division, income inequality, racism, the individual’s place in an uncaring world — still torments our society today.

Crane emerges from the pages as flesh and blood. Auster has done a superb job excavating his early years which formed him into the social commentator who would lay the groundwork for the modern American novel in the twentieth century.

After a conventional upbringing as a minister’s son, Crane’s restless intelligence propelled him to seek the unusual, the ironic, and the misfit elements in late-19th century America. The Gilded Age jousted with extreme poverty in Crane’s own life as in the lives of his characters. He was always pressed for money due to his own free-spending and generosity to friends. But even the stories he wrote under a debt-repayment deadline show his characteristic brilliance.

His final months of ill-health, brought on by tuberculosis and overwork, are also well covered, leading the reader to think that Stephen Crane’s early death at age 29 was one of American literary history’s greatest losses.

•••

A native of Spokane, Paula Stepankowsky has lived in Longview since 1980, where she was a feature and business reporter for The Daily News and then the Pacific Northwest reporter for Dow Jones Newswires/The Wall Street Journal . After returning to graduate school, she became a middle school English teacher at St. Rose School in Longview. She serves on the boards of LifeWorks and the Longview Public Library, as well as volunteers for Cowlitz County Child Advocates, Friends of the Longview Library, and the Special Olympics.

TERRY BARNES GRAMBO Investment Adviser Representative