Keep enjoying Valencian red wines in summer.

During summer, high temperatures makes us change our eating and drinking habits. We look for refreshing options.  It’s the ideal time to taste white and rosé wines, with their soft, refreshing and fruity flavours, and their low consumption temperatures. But that is no excuse to avoid enjoying some Valencian red wine from time to time.  Valencian red wines are one of the best options to pair with meat recipes and delicious barbecues in Summer.

However, red wines are used to be served at room temperature. But which is the room temperature in summer? In Valencia, we are near the coast and we enjoy amazing Mediterranean weather… “Room temperature” can be something between 25º and 30ºC and even more, during most part of the day. That temperature is the adequate to taste a red wine. Wine has to be served at the correct temperature, independently of the room temperature, we should not serve a Valencian red wine colder because it is Summer or hotter because it is Winter.

What happens if we drink a red wine served at a room temperature in Summer in Valencia?

First of all, it is important to know that the suitable temperature to enjoy Valencian red wines, depending on the type of red wine that we’re talking about, varies between 12º and 20ºC.

Heat, in general, alters alcoholic drink. In the case of the red wine, heat changes its flavour and wine can become tannic, or too bitter to enjoy it. Direct sunlight can also modify wine characteristics. It’s important to keep the wine in the shade if possible most of the time.

Wine has to be served at the correct temperature. A red wine served at 28-30ºC would seem more alcoholic to our palate because the alcohol prevails over the bouquet. But if you want to drink it cooler because it’s summer, and you serve it at 10ºC or less, it wouldn’t let you enjoy all the flavours. The fruity bouquets could be overshadowed, and the secondary flavours would be more intense because the tannins would be emphasized.

If we want to drink a chilled-enough red wine, the best option is to drink a good sangria.

How should we chill wine?

We should never chill the wine in a freezer. Wine can lose its flavour if the temperature changes abruptly. If you need to chill a bottle of red wine the best option is to put it inside an ice bucket. As ice cubes melt slowly, water will chill little by little and wine will reach the suitable temperature gradually.

In any case, the best way to store the wines at home or in a restaurant is to keep them in a wine cooler where you can regulate the temperature according to the wine stocked.  This way you will enjoy the wine at the right temperature when you open it.

As said before, each wine has its ideal temperature to be drunk, and, in the case of red wines, the best option for summer is to choose young wines, as they are served at cooler temperatures. If you’re searching for a red Valencian young wine, our wines “Barón de Turís tinto”, “Castillo de Turís” or the semi-sweet wine “Viña Poniente” are available for you.