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You Can Chill Red Wines, Too. Here Are 5 Varietals to Try

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It’s long been said: Chill your white wines and rosés, but not your reds. Why not?

Sure, many benefit from room temperature treatment, opening up and making a bigger presence felt both in terms of flavor and aromatics, but some reds can benefit from a cool-down, especially in midsummer when cold — or, at least slightly chilled — is all the more attractive. (We’re not talking as cold as the Rockies, after all.)

chilled red wine
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Here are some red wine styles you might consider tossing in the fridge for twenty minutes or so just before you pop the cork (or unscrew the cap).

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Beaujolais

Fruity and agreeable, Beaujolais is naturally built like a wine cooler. It’s juicy, red berry qualities make it perfect for a dunk in the ice chest on a steamy afternoon. Know that the main grape of the region is Gamay Noir, a rising American variety, especially along the West Coast. Look to give these sibling wines a slight chill as well, should you run across them in your local bottle shop or grocery store.

Georges Debouef

We recommend: Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau 2018.

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Pinot Noir

Known for its nuance, Pinot Noir almost always benefits from room-temperature service on top of some breathing or decanting. But cooler vintage wines, which tend to have lower alcohol and more acid, can be downright refreshing when served slightly on the cool side. Ask your wine steward for some suggestions based on the growing season and prepare to be pleasantly surprised.

For cheaper, non-vintage wines, chill the hell out of it. You’re not going to do a lot of damage to a $10-$12 bottle of Pinot anyhow. In fact, you may even be able to help its cause.

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We recommend: Domaine Serene Evanstad Reserve

Tannat

Big and chewy, Tannat is a hefty French grape (that is more known now for its South American bottlings) and is built for grilled meats. But in the summer, you can take the sting out of the sucker with some fridge time. A brief chill turns the volume down on this notoriously powerful wine, making it a bit more approachable on its own. My advice: Take a bottle out of the fridge and have a chilled glass while you’re grilling. As the rest of the wine comes to temperature — and the merciless summer sun finally sets — it’ll pair all the better with your steak or burger.

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We recommend: Stinson Vineyards Tannat

Frappato

In addition to being fun to say (go ahead, say it out loud, we’ll wait), Frappato is a joy to drink. The Italian wine, produced primarily in Sicily, is a fairly close relative of Sangiovese and tends to show a lot of red fruit with a medium-light body and a reasonably low alcohol by volume. Look out for tasty options from the Mt. Etna area and try them — after a slight chill to heighten freshness — with summer salads and even grilled fish.

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We recommend: Il Frappato, Valle dell’Acate 2017

Zinfandel

Big old Zinfandel is known for its jammy, fruit-driven nature, and we’re not just talking about ever-popular White Zin. The straight-up red version is bold, but so juicy that a cooler serving temperature can clean the whole thing up a bit. It’s a nice way to turn down the variety’s signature spice flavors and bring the fruit more into the foreground.

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We recommend: Dry Creek Vineyards Heritages Vines Zinfandel

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Mark Stock
Mark Stock
Contributor
Mark Stock is a writer from Portland, Oregon. He fell into wine during the Recession and has been fixated on the stuff since…
A Quick Guide to Iranian Wine (and What You Can Get in the U.S.)
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Way, way back, the city of Shiraz was a place known for its wine. The vibrant Iranian town produced and enjoyed a fair bit of the stuff, gaining a vast reputation for fermented fruit.
The Persian region is home to some of the oldest evidence of enology on the planet. Vessels caked in tartaric acid, a byproduct of winemaking, have been found that date back to 5400 BC. They were discovered in the Zagros Mountains, the rugged range of peaks that makes up Iran’s western border.
Such rich history means plenty of corresponding mythology. One of the best tales involves a heartbroken girl rejected by the king. Suicidal, she ate rotten table grapes, seeking to end her life. As you might guess, she survived, and even got a little drunk. She reported her findings to the king and a glorious wine scene was born.
It’s estimated that until the revolution of 1979, as many as 300 wineries operated within Iran’s borders. Today, the industry is mostly forbidden, save for a few non-Muslim operations. However, there are almost certainly a few clandestine operations (producers, importers, etc.) as well, given that some reports say Iranians still drink a modest amount of wine per year, illegal as it may be. And there are the reports of the well-to-do, partying on weekends and even making some of their own wine at home.
So while the wine scene has been very limited in Iran for the last 41 years, the region as a whole over the course of civilization has largely embraced the stuff. It shows up in old paintings and literature (although the word wine has been outlawed in modern writing). And it makes sense, given the climate and elevation. Shiraz is set up quite high, giving it favorable diurnal shifts and a good grape-growing aspect.
While some suggest that today’s Shiraz wine (made from Syrah) owes its name in part to the historic central Iranian city, there’s not much to the claim. In fact, much of the wine that indigenous to the Shiraz area and enjoyed by its people was white, ranging from dry to sweet. It was typically fermented in amphora, both commercially and by families at home.
It’s pretty much impossible to taste anything alcoholic that’s made in Iran today. There are rumors of renegade winemakers smuggling Iranian-grown fruit across borders and making small amounts to be shipped to select spots, but very little evidence to back that up. Fortunately, there are other creative ways to taste a bit of the Persian tradition. Several wineries in the States were launched by Iranians and look to craft something that honors their homeland, not to mention its prehistoric relationship with wine.
A few to look out for:

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