Why you should be chilling your red wines

With a sweaty St. Louis summer hiding around the corner, most wine drinkers’ thoughts turn to white. Who wants to sit on a patio or stand by a grill with a glass of 15 percent ABV petite syrah as the temperature approaches triple digits? But maybe you don’t want to drink white (or rosé for that matter), yet you do want to drink wine. The answer is a chilled red.

But reds aren’t supposed to be chilled, right? Wrong. First, unless the reds you consume are coming right out of the cellar, you are probably drinking them too warm. Once reds get into the 70-degree range, the mouth feel becomes flabby and they show their alcohol. So in one sense, most reds should take a little chill, down to about 65 degrees, before consumption.

However, there are a substantial number of red wines that, when chilled below cellar temp, can be exceptionally refreshing and very food friendly. And we aren’t suggesting you chill these wines just because warm weather has finally arrived. Lowering the temperature of these wines into the mid-50 degree range tends to tame their tannins, add a bit of snap and slyly bury their alcohol.

Reds that take a chill tend to be light-to-medium bodied. Gamay, the grape used to make Beaujolais, is a classic example of a red that benefits from a brief ice bath. So is the often misunderstood Lambrusco grape from Emilia-Romagna in Italy. Yet there are plenty more. Try icing down cabernet Franc, pinot noir, and lighter Piedmontese grapes like Dolcetto, Barbera and Grignolino. Here, four red wines ripe for chilled drinking.

La Petite Mairie “Les Galluches” Bourgueil
Chilling this cabernet Franc from the Loire Valley will de-emphasize the tannins, while the mouth feel will become sleek, and more notes of cherry, olive tapenade and earth will glide across the palate. There is nothing better than a bottle of chilled Bourgeuil and some fresh chevre on a hot day.

Manicardi Vigna Cà del Fiore Lambrusco
Perhaps the king of chilled reds, the nose of this dry – not sweet – Lambrusco shows bright raspberries and black cherries, along with hints of leather and herb. On the palate, this wine, which hails from Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, is frizzante — it’s fizzy, but less so than Champagne. More fruit, leather and herb are wrapped in velvety tannins, all backed by a crisp, refreshing acidity. Drink it with mortadella or your favorite charcuterie.

Domaine de Montbourgeau Poulsard 2011
From the Côtes de Jura region of France, this red is so light in color that it could be mistaken for a rosé. Dried herbs and red berry on the nose, tart quince and rhubarb on the palate, and zingy acidity at the finish make for an endlessly refreshing wine. Pair it with grilled vegetables, especially ones that lean toward the sweet side such as corn, zucchini or ripe grape tomatoes.

Domaine Dupeuble Beaujolais Nouveau 2012
This Beaujolais offers snappy red fruit on the nose. Ripe cherry, cranberry, and even notes of black pepper and black soil show themselves on the palate. With a refined tannic structure and very high acidity on the finish, this one pairs perfectly with a white bean and octopus salad.