What we love to drink in summer

Australia's First Families of Wine are Brown Brothers, Campbells, d'Arenberg, De Bortoli, Henschke, Howard Park, Jim Barry Wines, McWilliam's, Tahbilk, Taylors, Tyrrell's and Yalumba. This group of 12 family-owned winemakers represents 16 Australian wine regions across four states with a total of 1200 years of winemaking experience. A peek into their drinking habits over the summer months makes inspiring reading.

Bruce Tyrrell

Tyrrell's Wines, Hunter Valley

Summer in the Tyrrell household means three things. In descending order: cricket, the beach, cricket, good drinking, cricket and then, somewhere around mid-January, vintage 2014 pops up, bringing a halt to all that festive family frivolity.

It's the same routine each summer, except vintage appears to be getting earlier. However, it doesn't stop the good drinking.

At vintage, with so many young people working at the winery including six who hail from overseas, Bruce Tyrrell makes a point of popping out to the family's private cellar at dinner time and putting some ''really good old booze on the table''. He brings out aged Tyrrell Vat 1 semillons and Vat 47 chardonnays from the '70s, '80s, a couple of white burgundies and some ''odd'' wines including magnums of cabernet Tyrrell's made from Mudgee fruit 15 years ago. He also shows wines from other members of Australia's First Families of Wine. The families swap wine at this time of year and Tyrrell might bring out Peter Barry's riesling, Tahbilk reds or maybe a Campbells fortified. ''It gives them (winery workers) a real good look at other regions and styles.''

Tyrrell's Wines 2009 Vat 47 Hunter Valley Chardonnay ($54.99)

Ross Brown

Brown Brothers, Milawa

For Ross Brown, water, sun and seafood are the staples of summer. For that, his drinking needs are modest: riesling and pinot noir.

When Brown Brothers bought Tasmanian wine company, Tamar Ridge in 2010 for $32.5 million, the Brown family found themselves a private getaway on the east coast. ''We ended up on the Freycinet Peninsula and we think the Coles Bay area is just sensational,'' says Ross Brown. Crayfish (they have their own crayfish licence), calamari, flathead and mussels flow for lunch and dinner, sometimes accompanied by Brown Brothers wines, sometimes not. Tamar Ridge 2012 riesling is a favourite from a very good year along with the drink-now Devil's Corner 2013 pinot noir. Local makers like Milton's ''superb'' riesling and Kelvedon Estate's 2012 pinot noir, both at Swansea, also feature prominently on Ross Brown's summer wine list. ''A bowl of mussels and a glass of pinot noir, to me, is just sensational.''

Tamar Ridge Devil's Corner 2012 Pinot Noir ($19)

Chester Osborn

d'Arenberg Wines, McLaren Vale

Chester Osborn's mantra is ''you only live one life so make the most of it''. And he does. Without exaggeration he consumes an obscene amount of very fine wine over summer. ''There will be a lot of burgundy drunk and a bit of barolo and plenty of d'Arenbergs,'' he says. ''I'm drinking right now the '05 and '06 red burgundies, grand cru mainly with a bit of premier cru. I drank most of the '07s a year ago because they were lighter, fresher and fruitier, really pretty.''

He's also planning to make a dent in his stash of 2007 white burgundies.

He promises a lot of his controversially named Dadd sparkling will feature prominently on his hot weather drinks list since he's about to change the label to appease an angry Pernod Ricard, maker of Mumm champagne.

d'Arenberg Dadd Non-Vintage Sparkling Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier ($28)

Leanne De Bortoli

De Bortoli Wines, Yarra Valley

Whether it's at home in the Yarra Valley or at their beach house at Balnarring, Leanne De Bortoli and her winemaker husband, Steve Webber, are well prepared when friends drop in. There's always Veuve Fourny blanc de blancs ready to be cracked open (De Bortoli is the distributor for the champagne house) as an aperitif. Next comes the antipasto featuring home-made salami and bottles of rose. Sometimes it's De Bortoli's own La Boheme rose and sometimes ''the posh stuff,'' a rose from one of Provence's oldest wineries, Domaine de Tempier. Tomatoes plucked from De Bortoli's garden are served with barbecued fish or a de-boned leg of lamb. ''Usually we do things pretty simply.'' Wines tend to be on the lighter side, young and fresh. ''The one we've been enjoying lately is the (De Bortoli) La Boheme syrah gamay otherwise we enjoy Scorpo pinot gris from the Mornington Peninsula and Steve Pannell's reds, including the S.C. Pannell tempranillo touriga. Then it's down into the cellar. Webber loves his burgundy.

''We'll always have one or two of our own wines but we never drink them exclusively.''

De Bortoli 2013 La Boheme Act Two Dry Pinot Noir Rose ($20)

Peter Barry

Jim Barry Wines, Clare Valley

''I relax in January and I go to Robe for cray fishing for two weeks,'' says Peter Barry, who surely gets to live the great Aussie dream.

The menu in the Barry household is death by crustacean: crayfish tail sashimi in the morning, crayfish risottos at night, crayfish pasta during the day and then, his favourite, cray claws and fresh bread and butter.

''When it's hot in the summer I like really fresh riesling during the day, so current vintage wines, and as the day goes on the wines will get older. I like them around 10 years old when they start to get those marmalady, toasty characters.''

Special wines will be served: 2002 Pol Roger Blanc de Blancs champagne and there are plans for barolos and burgundies. ''I have a big collection of Chateau Coutet so that always comes out at the end of a meal.''

Now, Peter Barry admits to being an acid hound and therefore high acid riesling and young Hunter semillons are always in the fridge.

''I love acid, you can see that by our wines. They're just so crisp and clean in the heat. The kids like to drink burgundies, I prefer to drink chablis.''

Peter Barry drops his whites into an ice slurry.

''A fridge temperature of four degrees is not really cold enough for me in the summer. I prefer something about two degrees. It brings the acid out even more!

''I don't have to clean my teeth, the acid does it for me!''

Jim Barry Wines 2013 Watervale Riesling ($19)

Robert Hill-Smith

Yalumba, Barossa Valley

The only male in a family of five, Robert Hill-Smith often finds his tastes differ from the majority when it comes to summer drinking.

''For me it's riesling and riesling, probably mostly young Mesh 2012 and some mature Pewsey Vale Contours 2008 riesling,'' he says.

And beer? His preference this summer is Lord Nelson Three Sheets and Cooper's Pale Ale.

For the other family members it's Jansz rosé sparkling from Tasmania and Barossa Valley-sourced, grenache-based rosé from Rogers and Rufus made in a dry Mediterranean style.

Summer means the Hill-Smith beach shack on Kangaroo Island. Swimming, beach cricket, fishing and barbecues on the beach fill in the days.

How often does he drink his own wines? ''Regularly,'' comes the reply. ''No, let's be honest, daily!''

When is it time to break out European wines?

''I must say Champagne Pol Roger does get a visit now and again as does Egon Muller rieslings (from Germany's Mosel wine region) and if I get excited, then a burgundy may emerge from the closet.''

His ultimate summer food/wine pairing is barbecued Gulf prawns or freshly caught King George whiting with, you guessed it … Pewsey Vale riesling.

Jansz Non-Vintage Brut Rosé ($25)