Once you start drinking crisp, juicy, super-focused wines from the Loire or powerful, intensely flavored wines from New Zealand, I bet you’ll forget about Chardonnay for a few weeks. I’m also pretty confident that your going to become a missionary for these wines. Before you know it, you’ll be converting friends with every marvelous bottle you pull out of your secret stash.

Sancerre is a little hilltop town that pops out of the Loire like a button. In the 70’s, the wines from the area were all the rage around Europe. Streaked with mineral and honey aromatics, the best of them are so vibrant that they leave a trail of amazement in their wake as the bottle makes its way around the room. The wines are refreshing and terroir driven. They should be your go-to wine for salads and goat cheese (especially of the ash-aged creamy variety). If you want to lay down some sophistication at a dinner party this summer, the Hyppolite Reverdy Sancerre is the wine to set the night off right.

SB from New Zealand is a different animal. A big, lovable, tropical-tasting animal. The country’s best artisan wines come from Marlborough, on the northeast tip of the South Island. These Lemon-zest dusted bananna, kiwi and gooseberry bombs are intensely aromatic and deeply enjoyable. Serious crowd pleasers with the power to match bold food, this is the stuff for backyard entertaining and people-watching from the porch. For everyday grilling, chilling, and relaxing, serve up a few bottles of Sacred Hill. For an epic, next-level grill event, roll out the Mahi.