Grab a glass and head to the hammock, your holiday reading list awaits.

2021 has been a spectacularly long, rough year, and for its final hurrah, La Niña is going to make sure our much-deserved summer is a wet one. The best activity for a rained-out summer vacay? Reading. Summer always turns out the best page-turners, designed to be devoured on the beach, but they are actually just as enjoyable when read at home, maybe on the balcony, out of the rain and with easy access to the fridge. Which means you can match your book with a beverage.

Ahead, the best pairs for a hot, wet, well-read summer.

Native & Ancient Pet Nat Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

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Pair: Summer infidelity with a scrumptious pet nat

In The Paper Place, author Miranda Cowley Heller sets the scene: a comfortable family migrates to their summer house, as they do every year. But this year, 50-year-old married mother of three, Elle, steps out with her oldest friend to have sex while their spouses are chatting inside. Well, hello! Tensions, secrets, desire and dignity all play out in this new debut novel that gets passionate five-star reviews. Much like Native & Ancient Pet Nat Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. The refreshing, fruity, naturally sparkling wine has wine lovers ditching their usual whites and buying on repeat.

Pair: Two new releases from national treasures

Liane Moriarty’s adapted novels keep Nicole Kidman on the small screen (i.e. Big Little Lies, Nine Perfect Strangers). The Australian author turns out hit after hit, and her 2021 release, Apples Never Fall is no exception. Pair it with another new release from the guys who’ve made being lovable Aussie battlers podcast gold. Matt Ford and Jack Steele of The Inspired Unemployed podcast have turned their hands to beer. BETTER BEER has zero carbs, just 87 cals and no sugar. Better, get it? It’s new to the Dan Murphy's shelves and already converting beer lovers who prefer to save the extra cals for second helpings over the festive season.

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Pair: A university thriller with a cherry-red pinot noir

Paring a Estate PE Pinot Noir is a particularly good summer red. With a spiced cherry taste and smooth finish, it’s highly drinkable. Particularly when you’re deep in Alex Michaelides’ The Maidens. The story focuses on a secret society of female students (known as The Maidens), the professor they idolise, and a troubled university therapist who believes he’s a murderer. If Donna Tartt’s The Secret History is a favourite, this will be right up your alley.

Pair: A heavy dose of social commentary with a mid-strength pinot gris

Set in a cut-throat work environment, The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris puts two young Black women at the centre of the starkly white publishing business to play out mind-boggling plot twists. A dynamic thriller with whip-smart commentary, expect something like if Get Out and Promising Young Women were put in a blender and served up cold. While you wrap your head around that, sip on the delightfully mid-strength State of Light Pinot Gris. Fresh, lemon-y, bright and dry, and half the usual alcohol.

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Tropapalooza Lime and Berry Brewed Seltzer

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Pair: Humour and heart with a bright berry-flavoured seltzer

Set in Palm Springs, a formerly famous gay ex-sitcom star is suddenly made the primary carer of his young niece and nephew. The Guncle by Steven Rowley is one of those books that’s highly readable, so it deserves to be read with something highly-drinkable in hand. Tropapalooza Lime and Berry Brewed Seltzer fits the bill and then some. Low-sugar, refreshing and satisfying, it has just the right amount of sweetness. Plus, the can matches the cover.

Pair a desperate New York housewife and a rosé with a pedigree

Lots of books get turned into films. Mrs March by Virginia Feito is one of them, but it was yet to be published when it was announced Elizabeth Moss would star as Mrs March. Talk about buzz. The novel is a psychological study of sorts: a mid-20th-century Upper East Side housewife starts to lose her grip on reality when she suspects her novelist husband has based the vile central character in his new book on her. Moss reckons she couldn’t put it down, so you want to pair your read with something safely delicious, like Jon Bon Jovi’s Hampton Water Rosé. Yes, Jon Bon Jovi. He and his son Jesse teamed up with biodynamic winemaker Gérard Bertrand to make an elegant pale rosé produced in the south of France. What can we say? Celebs love making rosé.