Redden Your Summer with Wine

 

Do you know how to redden your summer with wine?

 

In this article you will learn:

• The romantic wine
• A big market called ‘the world’!
• Tradition is not always the best teacher!
• Not every red is red!
• Chill out!
• All myths debunked

Lets start from top

 

1. The romantic wine

‘Strawberries cherries and an angel’s kiss in spring

My summer wine is really made from all these things’

‘Summer wine’ was playing in the background in the small beach café and he was just leaning back on a chair at the bar sipping at his chilled beer. He was a regular at this café and this is what he always drank. He was never into liquor, he didn’t smoke either. He just sat down there drinking a beer for half an hour looking at groups of friends entering the café with their sun-dried bodies, laughing and joking vivaciously together. In fact, he had never done anything out of the ordinary in his whole life and the sight of groups of girls and boys drinking, talking, and laughing was always an amusing scene for him.

But today was a bit different from the other days. For the past ten minutes, he was fixated on a girl standing at the bar sipping at a whiskey and talking to two guys. She was wearing a tank top and a colorful African-style skirt with big floral patterns on it, accentuating the beauty of her suntanned skin. It was the second time he had seen her in the past week but he couldn’t get his eyes off her. The two guys had just joined her and were probably hitting on her. She was laughing at their jokes and took a glance of him every once in a while.

‘Yeah, she’s gorgeous’

The voice suddenly knocked him out of his thoughts and made him look for the source. It was Joe, the bar tender. He was not a friend but they had developed some acquaintance during his regular visits. Joe was a nice plump middle-aged guy with a handlebar mustache and he talked very little.

‘Yeah, she is’ he said inattentively, looking down at his beer again. Then he heard the rough sliding sound of glass on the counter. He looked up and saw a red glass right beside him on the counter.

‘Drink it. It’s wine. Good for you’ said Joe with a gentle smile.

He hesitantly looked at the glass and slowly grabbed it and picked it up, sniffing the inside like a raccoon with a bowl of Coca Cola in front of it. He sipped at it and surprisingly, it tasted good; his tongue felt a subtle taste of alcohol followed by chilled tones of red fruits moderating the bitter taste. He gulped it down and then the mild hot sensation of spices filled his mouth. He got drowned in the sensation and kept sipping at it until the glass was empty in a minute. For some unknown reason, his attention was shifted back again to the girl standing at the other side of the bar, but this time, more determined. The two guys were gone now, probably disappointed, or at least this is what he imagined.

He got up from his seat, his eyes fixed on the other side. ‘Thank you’ he said, not looking at Joe, who was still smiling. He strode across to the other side of the bar and was now standing beside her.

“Can I get you a drink?” he said briskly.

 

2. A big market called ‘the world’!

We are living in a time when everything is institutionalized and compartmentalized; we are living in a big global market that has divided products into small discrete categories in order to make them easier to sell. There is usually one single function given to every product so that it can be marketed more easily and directed to its specific customers. Products for this time, items for that age, merchandise for a specific class of people, and so on. I don’t intend to say that there shouldn’t be any functions, no! Functions help you decide better, they make choosing easier. The point I intend to make is that sometimes some major functions of a product are forgotten in this process and trivial ones take their place.

Besides, there are products that stand higher than others; they have been with us for millennia, they have existed for so long that they are part of us now. Wine, for instance, is one of them. Wine is not merely a product; it is a concept. It belongs to that part in us that reminds us we are still human.

So let’s not functionalize wine!

 

3. Tradition is not always the best teacher!

There is a traditional belief, and you might have heard of it too, that drinking red wine is not good in the summer, it is not refreshing and so on and so forth. The reason for this belief lies in the fact that most red varieties tend to be full-bodied with high tannins and higher alcohol levels and, therefore, not ideal for hot humid weather, as they will intensify the feeling of heat. This is not the case, though, and you will find out as I will unravel some aspects of the truth in this article.

The tradition goes on to say that red wine is better to be drunk in cooler times of the year while white wine is more suited to warmer weather. Some people, therefore, tend to drink white and sparkling wines during summer, while red wines are reserved for fall or winter when the weather gets colder. This belief is combined with an assumption that white and sparkling wines can be chilled whereas red wine does not have this capability; a belief not much backed up by evidence or proof, either. In fact, to tell you the truth, there ARE red wine varieties that CAN be, and are, chilled; but this is not much of our concern in this article.

 

4. Not every red is red!

First of all, I should say that in fact, not all varieties of red wines are full-bodied and strong. Red wines range from light to full-bodied, depending on numerous factors, and their alcohol levels vary from a low of 10% to a high of 15%. Needless to say, the higher the alcohol in wine the heavier it will feel in the mouth. Tannins are another defining factor too, determining the wine’s taste in your mouth; wines with less tannin will definitely feel lighter on the palate. Besides, as you know, red wines are usually oaked for a certain duration, giving them certain oaked tones during this time. However, un-oaked wines or very lightly-oaked wines generally feel lighter and fruitier and therefore will feel more refreshing once tasted. So there are moderate reds too; there are those so-called “powerful tannic” wines which feel too heavy on the palate, while there are those light-bodied ones, which feel quite refreshing on the palate.

In case you have an allergic palate and you care too much about it in hot weather, here are some varieties of red wine approved by most wine-drinkers, suitable for all climate varieties:

• Pinot Noir: As you know, it is a highly popular variety of red grape and its wines have fruit flavors including strawberries, cranberries, and cherries. This wine is light in color and ranges from light to medium-bodied, making it a favorite among wine lovers. Such wines as Pinot Noir or Grenache, although low in tannins, still have plenty of character and are flavorful at the same time.
• Grenache: With its notes of dark berries and floral tones, this wine is a variety that feels smooth on the palate, being a suitable choice for a summer afternoon barbecue along with meats and vegetables.
• Gamay: This variety of wine originally comes from Burgundy of France. It is a light and appealing red variety with aromas and flavors of cherries, dried fruit, and black pepper-corns.
• Traditionally, red wine varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot are considered to be heavy and full-bodied with high acidity and tannins. However, Cabs from cooler climates apparently happen to be lighter in body with more fruit flavors. So Cabernet Sauvignon from climates like Bordeaux in France, Chile, northern Italy, or northern California will have a lighter body than Cabs from warmer climates like Argentina, southern Italy, or Spain.
• Originating in California, and with a finely layered texture, Nik Pegasus wines, for instance, feel smooth on the palate in any climate. By drinking them, you can experience a fine Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot that feels neither too heavy nor too light once felt on the tongue. They have a moderate combination of tastes, and if served at normal temperatures, they can quench your thirst for a drink in any kind of weather.

 

5. Chill out!

Well, it is true that wine tastes best at room temperature, but this room temperature is a vague concept; it is an old concept probably equivalent to a temperature of 20 to 25˚C (68 to 77˚F), and this is how it feels in most air-conditioned rooms these days. But just in case, let’s assume that you are at a military base in the middle of a dessert and still you want to drink wine! Well, why not? If so, then why not chill your wine? Some do; and although it is not something I would recommend, it is still possible. Leave the bottle in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes and then drink it. Just don’t leave it until it is freezing cold for God’s sake!

A word of caution is in order here; remember that red wines that are light or medium-bodied are better chilled. Chilling a full-bodied high-tannin red wine will accentuate its bitterness and it is not recommended. In fact, as far as my research has shown, chilling wine is not recommended by wine-lovers at all. However, most wine-drinkers drink wine warm anyway.

And remember; Do NOT drop ice cubes in your wine!

 

6. Chill ‘out’!

It is not always that you drink indoors in a cramped room, and it is not always the wine’s feel in the mouth that matters. It is sometimes the context around the bottle of wine that matters more and by that I mean friends! So next time you want to have fun, grab a bottle of wine and take it outside on a picnic for instance and enjoy drinking the wine with your friends, or arrange a barbecue outdoors and what could better than wine with an outdoor barbecue? One way suggested to cool wine is to put it in an ice bucket; put the bottle of wine in a bucket full of ice and take it with you anywhere you go. This way, you can make sure the heat won’t ruin the taste of your wine. Of course, make sure your bottle doesn’t receive much sunlight or the taste will be ruined. Just remember to have good complements to the wine you have. Grilled meat, steak, and French fries are among good complements to red wine. So, get up an order a Nik Pegasus Gold right now and arrange a gathering outdoors with your friends and it will surely compensate for the hot weather during summer.

 

7. All myths debunked

So far into this article, you have been in the realm of ‘single-functionalists’, as I would call them; those looking for single functions for everything including wine; a specific type of wine for warm weather, a specific type for cool weather, another type for this, for that, and so on. However, life does not work like that and you know it. It is us humans who invented everything in this world, wine included; and if we go on letting what we invented decide for us when and where to use them, we will eventually be enslaved by them!

Surely, you wouldn’t want to be enslaved by wine; after all, wine is meant to give you a good time; it is supposed to be at your service, isn’t it?

The myth that this wine or that wine is not suitable for such and such weather probably belongs to prehistoric times when the harsh weather conditions dictated our lifestyles. Today, however, the weather is not our main concern in life for sure. Right now, for instance, you are probably reading this article in the comfort of your armchair in an air-conditioned room with a temperature of around 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit and your last concern is how it feels outside; so do you really care about what wine would be suitable in such weather? Or if you do, why WOULD you at all?

The ‘don’t-drink-red-wine-in-summer’ rule probably belongs to the time when the rooms were cooled merely enough to help a person not feel the sun outside. But with all the facilities and the air-conditioning which are an inherent part of our lives today, it is almost meaningless to think of such old-fashioned rules. Just enjoy and drink whatever you like, but in moderation.

And remember, ‘moderation in everything including moderation’!