It’s not always easy matching wines to summer meals when it’s very hot. You have to serve the wine at the right temperature without spoiling it, and then keep the wine at the desired temperature once it’s on the table. If the wine is too warm, it will seem heavy and the alcohol will overpower the wine, and if it’s too chilled, you won’t be able to appreciate the aromatic qualities and depth of the wine. Here are a few suggestions for enjoying your wine this summer.
Firstly be careful when choosing your wine because not all wines are at their best when the mercury starts to rise. Of course, the wine should be chosen to match the dish being served, but you also need to take a few points into consideration. For red wines, favour lighter wines because the heat makes the tannins more pronounced, and serve them between 15 and 18°C. For the whites, choose dry and mineral wines over complex and sweet wines. They are usually best served between 9 and 11°C, when the aromas are best released. The same is true for champagnes and rosé wines, the latter being better suited if they are light and fruity.These serving temperatures feel much less compared to the 30+°C often encountered during the summer months. The most important thing is to try and avoid any thermal shocks. For example with red wines, rather than letting the bottle breathe in the warm air and then cooling it down afterwards, if you’re lucky enough to have a cellar, it’s better to open the bottle and let it breathe in the cellar, and then bring it out at the last minute. Not such an easy thing to do with a wine fridge though!
Alternatively, if you have a little time ahead of you, before opening the bottle, wrap it up in a damp tea towel and put it in the fridge for an hour at most, but no longer. The wet tea towel will help lower the temperature a little more quickly.
If you prefer to use an ice bucket or ice bag, which can also be used to stop the wine from warming up whilst on the table, mix some cold water with the ice cubes, as still wines don’t like to be frozen, and add some coarse salt which helps the temperature fall more quickly.
Chilling sleeves that you place in the fridge or freezer before wrapping them around the bottle don’t really chill a wine, but they are useful in maintaining the same temperature without causing any thermal shocks.
When using a carafe to serve your wine, they also exist with removable tubes that you can fill with water and freeze so that the ice can be used without diluting the wine. Of course ice cubes and wine are not a good idea if you want to preserve the aromas and concentration of the wine. If you really want to put something frozen directly in your wine, an alternative is to freeze some grapes, berry by berry, and then add them when needed. They’ll cool the wine down without diluting it as ice cubes do, and at least its more eye catching!
Another tip is to chill the wine glasses using ice cubes just before serving the wine, which will stop the wine from warming up so quickly in the glass. To chill the glass, put a few ice cubes in, and swirl them around until the glass starts to frost up.
By following these few tips, you should be able to continue enjoying a few nice bottles this summer. Enjoy your holiday!
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