As soon as it hits 85+ degrees, chilled red season has begun.
Aside from rosé and crisp white, the biggest request we get at the wine shop is for chilled reds. Chilled reds we recommend include Beaujolais, crunchy Alpine varieties, dark red rosé, carbonic grenache, and sleeper plum cider (!).
What makes a red chillable? Generally, a chilly red is light-bodied, perhaps juicy, maybe high-acid, zingy, and immediate.
Can all red be chilled red? Technically yes, you could make all your red chilly, but many reds benefit from being served at cellar temp (~55 degrees) so that you can catch the nuance flavor and fragrance. This doesn't mean red wine that gets chilled doesn't have the nuance, it's just meant to be quaffed. In fact, we'd serve these wines ~50 degrees and let them warm up a touch over the course of the bottle. Like a mood ring, the wine will present new shades of complexity.
Can you red wine and chill? Please do.
This month, I got a little help from my friends for the newsletter. Introducing, the Patron Saint team—in my opinion, the best team in the business. If you've been in, you know what I'm talking about. They bring the warmth, the knowledeg, and now, the chilled red.
Margins “Barbera” San Benito, CA 2022
There are a few quintessential gathering wines in my opinion, Albariño, Chablis and gamay for example, that can be enjoyed by all walks of wine lovers. Margins Barbera also fits seamlessly into this category. Luscious blackberries, tart plums and a whiff of peonies sends me straight back to my mom’s garden and warm, firelit summer nights in the Midwest with friends and family. It's all underpinned by fresh, minerally acidity.
Megan Bell, the creator of Margins, has set up shop in Santa Cruz, California, where she makes wine sourced from vineyards that she describes as “on the margins of society.” Overlooked gems producing lesser known varietals up and down the northern and central coast. Calleri Vineyard, where this Barbera hails from, sits in Benito County, an area whose history is rooted in California’s early wine production. Hot, sun-drenched days with cool marine layer nights make this an excellent location of Italian and Spanish varietals. Add Megan’s light touch in the winery, and we are the lucky benefactors of a perfect summer wine.
I lived in the Santa Cruz mountains for six years and had the pleasure of drinking many Marigins wines and seeing Megan often in our small town. She’s a person who brings thoughtful care to every aspect of her work and is dedicated to showing others what she’s learned. You see it in the vineyards she works with, in her hands-off approach and the voice she gives to the struggles and joys of California growers (seek out the documentary Living Wine). Megan’s a quiet force and I am beyond happy to see her wines on our shelves. —Cassandra Vachon
Troddenvale “Darker Shade of Damson” Bath County, VA 2022
Plums, to me, represent a bridge between summer and fall. Where I grew up in the Midwest, plums would show up on our farmstands at the end of August, when we bid adieu to the levity of one season and ushered in the quiet weight of another. It’s my favorite time of year, and I imagine it must also be a quite dreamy time to harvest fruit in the hills of Bath County, Virginia, where the folks at Troddenvale make their natural ciders, some of the apples for which are grown on the historic farm while others are foraged.
This cuvee is a blend of Chambourcin, a hybrid grape friendly to cool climates, and Damson plum, a variety usually reserved for culinary pursuits (preserves, jams, etc.) due to its slightly astringent quality. The inclusion of Damson here lends an extraordinary deep purple color to the cider, like an elegant amethyst ring your most interesting friend might wear. The nose yields a healthy amount of funk; the first sip is plenty lip-smacking. This cider is fresh, crisp, and tart, with notes of slightly cooked cranberries, almost-ripe blackberries, and violet. To me, this cider really is just like biting into a plum on a late August day: breezy enough to finish the bottle at the table with a slight autumnal afterthought. —Haley Adams
Domaine Ozil “Barry” Ardèche, North Rhône, France 2022
Daniel and Thomas Ozil have made a brave and modern wine in a region steeped in endless tradition. Ardéche, nestled in northern Rhône, has vines that can be traced back to antiquity. Their great-grandparents and parents grew traditional crops for local co-ops maintained by conventional farming methods, which didn’t necessarily allow for nuance or creativity. In 2013 the brothers ushered in organic farming and make wine as naturally as possible.
Oh Barry. My admiration for this wine comes from its very cheeky versatility. A true shape shifter and crowd pleaser, it is simultaneously new world natty and old world earthy. Perfect for a cold night in or warm night out. It's rich and bright, the darkest cherries and softest stone with a warm pepper tingle lent from carbonic maceration (the practice of allowing whole clusters to ferment from the inside out in a capped tank that traps C02). Made from grenache and syrah that are grown alongside olives and lavender in clay and limestone soils, it's a chilled red perfect for deep conversation on the porch or paired with a summer table full of grilled meats and veggies. —Beth Altenbernd
Steiger-Kalena “Passatella” Rosato, Molise, Italy 2021
Try to find Molise on a map. It's not easy. Tucked between Campania and Puglia, Molise is Italy’s second smallest wine growing zone, and, though idyllic, has been largely (un)known as a producer of vino da tavola (table wine).
Thanks to Kermit Lynch and wine makers Giulio and Margarita Steiger at Steiger-Kalena, we now know Molise by this dark rosé made from young vine montepulciano (thin skinned and full of power). Balanced with a bit of aglianico (savory and herbaceous) and tintilla.
Tart strawberry followed by a rich, rosemary note ensure this light red/rosato is a welcome addition to any backyard soirée (it's. a liter which = party wine). Pair with smokey barbecue ribs, grilled peaches, and Louisiana tomatoes. —Drew Clowney