After years of simmering under the radar, chilled reds as a category have catapulted into the mainstream, emerging as this summer’s most fashionable pour.
Midway through what’s shaping up to be the hottest year on record, you’ve likely succumbed to a certain sweat-stained lethargy this summer. As temperatures continue to soar, you might ask, what’s the perfect wine to weather the dog days ahead?
“In terms of texture and weight, reds become a bit more streamlined on the palate when chilled”, says Tenzing Palden, wine director and sommelier at Bonyeon, the newly opened West Loop restaurant where beef takes center stage in an omakase-style tasting menu. There’s an added perception of lightness, he suggests, “that makes the wine more quaffable, more easily drinkable.
But some red wines are particularly suited for chilling. And more than just cool, they’re the kind of thirst-quenching, crowd-pleasing reds that might easily be served as cold as a white or rosé. The French describe these irresistible wines as glou glou, wines such as gamay from Beaujolais, cabernet franc from the Loire, or blends of poulsard or trousseau from the Jura. But this summer, you’ve likely encountered entire sections of “chillable reds” at your local wine bar or wine shop.
They initially tried serving their classic Côtes-du-Rhône red chilled, but “it didn’t work,” Thibault Brotte says. “Cold masked the aromas and brought out the tannins,” he says. So they formulated a new cuvée made with “grapes picked ripe, but not overripe” and fermented with up to 25% white grapes such as grenache blanc and clairette to accentuate the freshness, perfume and acidity of grenache and syrah.
Adjustments in wine temperature are also a carefully considered element of the sommelier’s playbook at Bonyeon, where it’s not unusual to have four or five distinct reds lined up with successive beef pairings, Palden says. Variations in temperature create “a roller coaster effect that can break up the monotony” of the experience, he says.A brief stint in the refrigerator — 20 to 30 minutes — can substantially cool a bottle of wine. As will 10 to 15 minutes in an ice bath.
Gustafson fell in love with the wines of Ross and Bee Maloof, a husband-and-wife winery based in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, while working with Jonas Bittencourt, the general manager and beverage director at John’s Food & Wine. “They do a lot of interesting things with field blends and lighter reds that are so bright and complex. With a bit of a chill, they play really well with seafood and other lighter dishes,” she says.
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