It’s certainly not cold.

But your red wine can be.

 

Have you been as hot as we have?  Wowzer.  Before you chastise me with “well what do you expect, it’s summer in Western Australia!” As I’m writing this it’s officially Autumn here so, yeah.

I’m coming on here to bend your ear for a few minutes and offer a controversial opinion.  I’ve harped on about this over my years working cellar door but I think it’s appropriate to emphasize here.

Ready?  Opinion incoming.

Drink your red wine cold.

Yup, I know, blasphemy. 

I’ve heard (as I’m sure you have too) countless times that drinking cold red wine is a sin, akin to mixing it with Coke or drinking it from a mug.

Nonsense, all of it – well, the Coke thing’s a bit on the nose but each to their own.

If you are hesitant to drink red wine from the fridge, please don’t be. Try it, pop a bottle in the fridge tomorrow morning, pull it out and pour it in the evening. 

I promise – it won’t explode and you won’t be smote down in flames.  It’ll surprise you and you just might like the result. 

It’ll go something like this.

Your first sip will be cold, fridge cold.  You’ll then pour a glass for your drinking companion (those aren’t strictly necessary), take a seat under your back patio and sup sip number two.  The wine will already be around 8-10 degrees. 

As I’m sure you’ve now gathered, by the time you hit the meat of the glass it’ll be sitting at a ‘wonderful for continued consumption’ 13-16 degrees. 

And yes, for those oenophiles, chilling red wine CAN mute its fruit flavours and appear to dry the wine out.  However, in Australia (and at Faber), we generally make fruit-forward, soft reds. Which can take a chill without losing any of the wonderful fruity flavours that make them so delicious.

Would I chill my first-growth Bordeaux?

Well, to begin with, I wouldn’t have one at all (I’d have 73 bottles of Faber Grenache instead).  But yes, even a $2000 wine is nicer cold than hot.

What I’m saying is, In my experience, and I’ve done plenty of due diligence; all hot red wine sucks.  So in this weather, keep it cold.

Down below I’ll mention the red wine that I’ve drunk the most of this summer and is a permanent fixture in my fridge.  If you’d like to join me in drinking a great chilled red, feel free to order online or stop by the cellar door for lunch and a chat.

A whole range of red wine styles work cold, and the only way to truly know is to jump in and try them.

Anyhow, I hope you get some enjoyment from my opinion and if you do get around to trying a chilled red, let me know what you think.  

So where does hot white wine sit you might ask???  Well, that’s just nasty.

For those interested, I’ve been loving the 2021 Grenache.  It’s been a wonderful pick during this heatwave, I’ve had a bottle in the fridge ready to go at a moment’s notice.

It’s a terrific wine.  Plenty of fleshy fruit flavours with spices and savoury notes throughout.  It’s light of body but full of flavour and has a genuine moreish character about it.  Fantastic drinking all year round but particularly delicious when pulled from the fridge after a hot day at work.

A note on Grenache.  Drink it.  Seriously, it’s such a great value category in Australian wine right now.  5 years ago, it hardly got a second look, now it’s the zeitgeist of modern Australian wine.  Where there is hype and interest, innovation and investment follow.

 

*Now if your taste buds are tingling, remember we ship free, Australia wide.