It’s sultry in Virginia, and the drinking is easy. Fresh fruit, slushy cocktails and crisp white wine are on the menu. Grab a thick straw, slap on some sunscreen and go find a rooftop deck to enjoy these summer sippers.
COCKTAIL
Top Chef pals restaurateur Mike Isabella and chef Jennifer Carroll announced in April their pop-up Requin would make a permanent home in Mosaic and add a roof deck for an extra 100 seats later this summer.
Order a Clean Slate, a pink and powerful slushy layering sherry, vodka and cava with grapefruit juice and a refreshing scoop of housemade grapefruit sherbet. Though you can eat the pansy-as-garnish, it tastes like grass … and not the good kind. // Requin: 8296 Glass Alley, Fairfax
SMOOTHIE
Colorful pictures of fruity drinks hang outside many of the tiny bakeries throughout the Vietnamese food and shopping haven of Eden Center, but this time of year, order the jackfruit smoothie.
You’ve probably marveled at these behemoths (about the size of a watermelon) at Asian markets. It’s the world’s largest tree fruit, and its nubby yellow skin hides creamy, sweet flesh. In season now in Asia and warmer states in the U.S. (though not Virginia), jackfruit is one of the most popular smoothies on the long beverage list at Saigon Bakery & Deli.
Fresh jackfruit is blended with ice and condensed milk and poured over chewy black tapioca pearls. The result looks like custard, tastes like pineapple and mango and smells like ripe peaches. It’s sweet but not heavy—and perfect with a steamed pork bun. // Saigon Bakery & Deli: 6773 Wilson Blvd., Falls Church
WINE
50 West Vineyards, which opened last fall, just released its first bottlings, including a single vineyard 2015 sauvignon blanc. Winemaker Nate Walsh, who also handles grape duties at sister winery Sunset Hills in Purcellville, created a crisp wine loaded with citrus and gooseberry.
The wine is 100 percent sauvignon blanc, made with grapes grown at the granite-rich Bethany Ridge property in Waterford.
Also new and worth a glass: 2015 rosé of sangiovese, made with fruit from the cooler Shenandoah region. // 50 West Vineyards: 39060 John Mosby Highway, Middleburg
