Cool is good, and in the wine industry it is now more relevant than ever. Why? People like to drink cool and cold stuff, thus omitting a large segment of the industry, namely red wine.
According to the rule-book, red wine is meant to be drunk at a moderate temperature. Perhaps not the room-temperature found in a busy restaurant kitchen next to the pizza oven, but a slightly more toned Celsius-reading of, say 16°C to 18°C. Not blood-warm, but also far warmer that the alcohol drinks most people favour today.
In fact, of all the alcoholic beverages available world-wide, only red and fortified wines are suggested for drinking at temperatures that are not deemed cold. Beer, cocktails, ice-accompanied whisky and brandy…the world likes their drinks to be well-chilled, if not icily frigid.
So if this is liked, why not do more to encourage the drinking of red wine chilled to the same degree as a Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc? Or state that a wine-lover will not be keel-hauled, lashed or publicly shamed if he or she wishes to add a cube of ice to a glass of red?
This unconventional, yet precisely pertinent, approach to drinking red wine was again brought to my attention by Niepoort wines from Portugal, who are currently running an Instagram campaign encouraging red wine to be chilled in an ice-bucket. And if not, why not?
In the 1970s Guinness – the venerable Irish stout – ran a television campaign in Britain encouraging the drinking of the black stuff at a temperature deemed cold, instead of the piss-warm room temperature at which pubs preferred it served back then. This had a major impact on Guinness’s image, as well as broadening its consumer base, the majority of which had until the advent of “cold Guiness” associated the stuff with a heady black beer made for callous-handed dockworkers and old male farts in mothball-scented tweed jackets.
Guinness suddenly appealed to a younger audience, women included, and the rest is history.
Red wine has the potential of following a similar trajectory if the enjoyment of a chilled glass of red wine is encouraged, as well as the acceptability of adding an ice-cube or two.
I can personally vouch that an ice-cold Shiraz still tastes marvellous after it has been in the fridge for a few hours, and yes, during a warm summer lunch I’ll drop an ice-cube into a glass of Kanonkop Cabernet Sauvignon. This horrifies the old wine guard, but to the new generation of wine drinkers, I think it looks as cool as it tastes.
And in today’s world where every liquor producer is seeking for a share or throat, can anyone afford not to buck outdated trends?
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Emile, ek kan nie meer met jou saamstem nie!! In die Swartland is dit byna onmoontlik om goeie rooiwyn teen kamer temperatuur te geniet. Ons hou maar altyd ‘n paar bottels rooi in die yskas…net vir ingeval daar vriende opdaag.
100% I be loving a Cinsault or Pinotage chilled. My absolute fav is a decent P.N. Chilled for late afternoon enjoyment and then brought to a slightly “warmer” temp as the evening progresses. This obviates the need to transition to other reds as I may not want to open a different bottle. Also find that P.N. is a good all rounder for most meals that are not too heavy which most of us are pivoting to.
On an aside to your last article about Sav Blanc, great to hear of Alunda Basson elevation. My 5c is however that we are going to struggle to overcome the Marlborough Sav blanc style which is rampant internationally. My international guests struggle with any Sav Blanc that is more tropical(acid?) so it will take an Herculean effort, especially if there is various styles with the SA origin. Consumers are easily confused. The Chenin Blanc proposition is for me a far better battle to wage.