|
By Irish standards this summer has been
fab. So what do you do if want to drink something cold out in the garden but
don’t fancy a beer? Martin will be looking at summer reds that can be served
cold on the Moncrieff show this Friday 21st July on News Talk 106FM
after the 3pm news
We
tend as a rule to drink our whites too cold and our reds too warm in most
Anglophone countries. Warm reds can end up tasting like soup. So called room
temperature is about 18 degrees not the 21 – 22 we often have or more on a
warm day or evening In these circumstances almost any red will benefit form a
short stint in the fridge. But what should red wine drinkers do if they want
something that’s actually refreshingly cold? No don’t reach for the
Budweiser, there are quite a few reds that slip down happily after a big chill.
The
most classic example is Beaujolais, the fruity light red from France. It comes
under many names, best known here are Fleurie and Brouilly, but there are ten
villages that can stick their name on the bottle. Others are simple called
Beaujolais or Beaujolais-Villages. All use the gamay grape and use a
fermentation technique called carbonic maceration, which markedly reduces the
tannin in the wine. Tannins are useful for colour stability and ageing but too
much makes a wine affect the gums and teeth like stewed tea and chilling only
increases the sensation.
We’ll
taste the following Beaujolais from Oddbins:
Beaujolais Cuvée Vieilles
Vignes Domaine De Bionnay 2005 - €14.99
Method
of Production: The handpicked grapes were transferred to stainless steel tanks
as whole bunches where they underwent carbonic maceration and fermentation. The
wine was then pressed to old wooden foudres (big old barrels of several thousand
litres capacity – so that they don’t impart any oak flavour) for six months'
maturation before being fined, filtered and bottled.
Grape Mix : 100% Gamay Region : Beaujolais Percentage Alcohol : 12.5
Good
Beaujolais is almost like purple rosé, if that makes sense. Flavours should be
raspberry and cherry with maybe a twist of pepper.
Almost
any restaurant in France will offer the option of having it cold, however in
Dublin waiters will look shocked if you ask for your Fleurie cold. But persist
and demand an ice bucket and tell them I sent you.
The
other classic French cold red are the light, slightly acidic reds of the Loire
Valley. Look for Chinons, Saumur-Champigny, Anjou Rouge or St Nicolas de
Bourgueil. The grape here is cabernet franc. DNA testing has shown this to b,
together with sauvignon blanc, cabernet sauvignon’s parent. Naturally there is
a resemblance. Expect some blackcurrant notes, (á la cab sav) but also
raspberry and a more perfumed character. We’ll be tasting another from Oddbins:
Chinon 'La Grille' Couley-Dutheil 2003 - €12.49
Method
of Production : Handpicked grapes from vines with an average age of 30 years
old, were fermented in stainless steel tanks with naturally occurring yeasts for
three weeks. Both malolactic conversion and micro-oxygenation were used to
soften the wine, which was fined and filtered before bottling.
Grape Mix : Cabernet Franc
Region : Loire, Percentage Alcohol : 13.5
Oddly
for a hot country Australia doesn’t do many reds designed specifically to be
drunk cold, however they invented there own grape there a few years ago called
tarrango. It’s a cross between Port’s touriga nacional and sultana. Not a
promising start in life but this unfortunate love child has overcome adversity
and makes quite convincing Beaujolais or dark rosé style wines. Brown Brothers
from NE Victoria are the grape’s champions and we’ll taste their Brown
Brothers Tarrango 2004, €10-99 –
11.99 available from Superquinn, Supervalu, Spar, Dunnes and various
Independent ‘offies’ .
You
can drink other reds cold too but look (usually) inexpensive wines that are
meant to be drunk young and haven’t been aged in oak as they will tend to be
simple and fruity and low on tannin. Many an entry level Aussie or Chilean or
Vin de Pays d’Oc will fit the bill as will the light reds of Valpolicella and
Bardolino from Itay.
Listen
live to news talk 106fm
|
