If you always put away the red wine the minute summer hits in favour of a crisper cooler white, then it could be time for a rethink. While many of us believe Vin Rouge to be a traditional winter tipple, there are plenty of lighter refreshing summer red varieties that can be enjoyed throughout the warmer months.

But there are some key things to consider when it comes to drinking red wine in the summer. From identifying which reds to go for and which ones to avoid, to knowing what temperature to serve them at, it’s not all just about popping the cork and sipping away. For example the distinguishing factor that makes them a summer wine is that they can be served chilled – but just how long should you cool them down before opening them?

And for those of you looking forward to summer cuisine, alfresco dining and plenty of barbequing, there are plenty of intriguing red wine food matches that you may never have thought about before.

So for a red wine summer master class, log on to our Web TV show where Paul Milton, Senior Winemaker for Lindeman’s will give you his top tips on how to enjoy your favourite reds this summer.

Paul Milton joins us live online at www.studiotalk.tv on Tuesday 24th May at 5pm to discuss red wine in summertime.

For more information visit www.lindemans.com  

H: Vicky Letch

A: Paul Milton – Lindeman’s wine maker

H: With the summer almost upon us, you’re looking forward to barbeques, al fresco dining, and of course a refreshing glass…of red?

Credits

H: Hello and welcome to Taste Talk, I’m Vicky Letch. Many of us believe that red wine is traditionally a winter tipple, often going for a chilled white during the summer weeks instead, but you might want to think again. There are certain reds which are a winner in the summer. In fact, some are even best served. So joining me today to go through the ultimate summer red wine master class is wine maker, Paul Milton, welcome sir.

A: Thanks Vicky, it’s great to be here

H: When they asked me to be here today, I have to think long and hard about it. Did I heck! I’m so looking forward to this, I can’t wait to get underway so let’s have a look at what’s coming up on the show today. We’ll be taking a look at knowing your grapes, how to get the most out of your red and what the industry thinks about this summer’s classics. In part two – which is a part I’m particularly looking forward – we’re going to be doing some food matching, so what individual foods go with individual red wines, and then of course in part three it’s time to have a look at all of your questions and we’ll do that live. Of course we are live, so if you do have any questions or any comments at all for Paul, all you have to do is use the box on your screen, click send and then we’ll do our best to tackle them over the course of the next 15 minutes or so. If you are tweeting, then please use the #studiotalktv and we’ll try and give you a mention. So, I think probably we need to start at the very beginning. I love red wine and I’m one of those annoying people that declare their love for the wine, but really I don’t know too much about it, so let’s go back to basics – If I’m tasting a red wine or if I’m serving a red wine, what are my list of do and don’ts

A: Well, there’s no definite rights and wrongs with wine, but the best way to do it is…a lot of the problem with tasting wine is people will fill their glass up too much

H: But it’s hard not to when you have those huge red wine glasses! It looks so small at the bottom

A: It does, it does, but the problem is you can’t really tip the glass and see the colour and it also prevents you from swirling the wine and getting the air into the wine so that you can smell the aromas better

H: So if that part of the breathing process? I don’t even know if this is true, but people say that when you put it in the glass you have to allow the wine to breathe, so that is true?

A: It depends on the wine. A white wine doesn’t really need to breathe, they’re quite fresh and crisp and you can drink it straight up. With a red wine or an older wine, it’s good to let the air get in. It lifts the aroma out of the glass

H: And smelling is a big part of trying the wine and choosing the wine, so when we are smelling the wine, what exactly are we looking for?

A: First off you’re probably looking for a wine fault, so a cork taint or anything. So if a waiter serves you the wine and then there’s a fault you can send it back. Next you’re looking for varietal characters, so the aromas, the oak, the bouquet of the wine

H: Everyone tastes and smells things differently, so you could smell a wine and smell berries in it, and I could smell, I don’t know, specifically raspberries, but that wouldn’t necessarily mean that one of us is wrong and one of us is right

A: Exactly! A lot of people are worried or frightened of wine, which isn’t what wine’s about, wine’s about enjoying it and having fun and it’s very personal. So exactly, you can have two different opinions and you’re both exactly right

H: You’re both on the money. What about when you actually taste it? Are there things you should do with it once it’s in the mouth, other than swallow it, which is my initial reaction!

A: A lot of people roll it around their mouths, breathe air through it. You might hear a slurping sound from some wine makers, because smell and taste are so intrinsically linked. They will be breathing air through the wine to get the smell of it while it’s in their mouth

H: This is actually really quite high tech stuff, isn’t it?

A: It’s quite high tech, but it helps you get the most out of the wine, you don’t have to do that particularly if you’re at a party, you may not want to make slurping sounds, but it does give you a better taste and smell of the wine

H: And when you go out, I don’t know what it’s like in your home land, but when we go out we are always offered water. I have a particular group of friends that would say, I don’t want water, I have another group of friends that would absolutely always insist that there’s always a bottle of water on the table when we’re drinking wine, so is there are right and wrong there?

A: Again, no real rights and wrongs, it’s personal preference. I myself like a bit of water, between drinks, particularly if you’re changing drinks. Maybe if you’re going from white to red you may want water to cleanse the palate a bit, but again it’s all personal preference, no rights or wrongs

H: Now as we know it’s getting pretty hot. It’s amazingly getting hot in this country, which is quite rare, so we’re enjoying it immensely!

A: I actually got sunburnt in England, which no one in Australia’s going to believe!

H: Headline news right there! It is possible you have to be careful with the sunscreen. I’m going to be honest, I love red wine. It’s absolutely my drink of choice it’s the first thing I would always go to. Until I see sunshine. The minute the sun comes out I switch to my dry rose. I don’t know if it’s something I’ve been conditioned to think because, being honest, I just do not drink red wine in the summer. So why do we have this disassociation with summer and red wine?

A: I think a lot of it is to do because white wines are generally served out of the fridge and people have got a stereotype that red wines should be served as room temperature. Room temperature in summer can be quite warm, so that’s not really showing the wine with its best characters, you want to serve it a little bit chilled, maybe 14 – 18 degrees in summer. Maybe pop it in the fridge for half an hour before you’re going to drink it and it really does make the wine a lot more enjoyable, easier to drink and that’s from Australia where we’ve got really hot weather and we love red wine, so…yeah…it’s coming from an Aussie!

H: I think this is quite exciting news. I mean you have honestly, genuinely told me something that I didn’t really know was an OK thing to do, because there are so many wine faux pas, and one I would instantly say would be serving the red wine chilled. I’m absolutely going to try it, but can I try it with all red wines? Are there certain grapes you shouldn’t try it with?

A: Generally, it’s personal preference again, but it does lend itself to the lighter to medium bodied styles, rather than the bigger, fuller, alcoholic more tannic wines, which are generally don’t suit chilling so much as a rose, or a pinot or a medium bodied red

H: Very interesting. I like ice in my dry rose, so maybe we’ll talk about ice in the reds in the next part. I could be pushing it somewhat! We’ve got a little treat for you. Last week we sent out our cameras to the London Wine Show, just to find out what the experts think about this summer’s red wine action, so take a look at this

VT

Woman 1: I think red wine is a wine for every occasion

Man 1: it’s how people interpret the occasion. If you’ve got a chilled red wine and it’s a hot day, it’s fabulous

Man 2: Well there are so many different types of red wines, you can have it at any time of the year really, just get the right type of red wine

Man 3: You don’t have to have red wine at room temperature; you can see all different fruit types. There are so many different types of varieties that are available so people shouldn’t be afraid to try new things

Woman 2: I actually enjoy red wine in the summer time. Everyone likes wine, everyone likes to come home and have something light and refreshing, but there’s something about red wine that’s full, different, you just want to sit down at the end of the day. I don’t think there’s a certain type of year for any wine, I think you can enjoy it all the time

Man 4: It’s got so much flavour, so much complexity

Man 5: Red wine is superb winter, summer, spring and autumn

Man 1: Red wine in itself is a romantic wine, it’s a wine to have for an occasion

Woman 1: White wine, even though it’s got complexity it doesn’t have the complexity that a red wine has got

Man 5: I enjoy both to be honest, but a nice red wine always goes down well

Man 6: I’m definitely a red wine drinker, so to me, I could drink it all year round

End VT

H: So some really interesting thoughts there. I have to say I love the lady who was saying red wine helps her unwind. There is that whole association for me, with a red wine it is just a little bit more satisfying, there’s a bit more going on in that glass than just a white wine or a rose

A: Definitely a more complex wine, a wine people do see as romantic and something to relax on the couch with their loved ones

H: Exactly. I love the man in the hat as well, who can not love him? You’ve brought some wine with you. It would have been a disaster had you not have! So let’s kick off then, this is the nearest bottle to me, so if you want to tell us what this is

A: For a start we’re going to try the Lindeman’s bin 40 Merlot. It’s got those cherry, plum-y characters. All French oak in there. Quite a medium to full bodied style. It will go well with some of the food we’re going to try shortly

H: Brilliant. Let’s get pouring that then. Now, obviously when we’re talking about food and red wine, we’re quite often thinking of lamb shanks, big steaks, so not necessarily the sort of food that you would choose to have in the summer, maybe. I’m wrong again, I’m guessing!

A: Well, Australia is known for barbeques during summer, so grilled meats are always a winner with red wine in Australia, so whether it’s a grilled tuna steak or…

H: Well, would you like to try this with a grilled tuna steak?

A: I think I’d better!

H: I think I can help you out. We’ve got some assistants today. The lovely Georgie is helping us out, so she’s going to bring in a tuna steak – thank you so much, I would invite you to dinner but there’s not a lot of room here! Thank you so much. So, should I taste the wine first? Do I hold it at the stem?

A: Whatever suits

H: So you whizz it around

A: Get a bit of air into the wine

H: That’s the most gorgeous colour. It’s like a garnet colour

A: It is young, almost purple hues in there

H: Delicious! Drinking in the middle of the afternoon!

A: It’s a tough job!

H: Now that is delicious!

A: Yes, a medium-bodied style which will go really, really well

H: Well, let’s see. How awkward if it doesn’t! Here we go then. I think you’re supposed to, when you’re doing live things, take really small bites. I don’t! That worked really well together then

A: The oiliness of the tuna steak I think goes really well with the red wine, it’s more of a robust style than maybe a Riesling

H: And I really think this is exciting because if you’re having a barbeque or something like that, quite often summer barbeques it’s quite nice to have some fish, you would automatically want to marry that fish with a white wine, or just a lighter kind of wine, so really nice. You’re opening up an entire world of wine drinking. I’m going to ask you to keep your fork. Georgie, if you could take this one away. Let’s take a look at the next wine we’ve got. What’s that one?

A: Next we’ve got the bin 45 cabernet sauvignon. The flavours that we normally get in here – again it’s quite personal – is eucalyptus, blueberries, minty characters. Again, matched all to French oak

H: So there are 2 different grape varieties in that bottle of wine?

A: No, cabernet sauvignon is one grape. Sometimes if it’s in a blend you’ll see it just listed as cabernet, maybe like Shiraz cabernet, but cabernet sauvignon is the one variety.

H: Now that looks deeper in colour to me, or is that the untrained eye getting it wrong?

A: No, cabernet sauvignon generally is a deeper colour because the berries are quite small and the colour for a grape is all in the skin, so you’ve got a higher skin to juice ration, so generally cabernet will be deeper colour than most red varieties.

H: So how does this compare differently to our first wine that we’ve tried?

A: Because they do have a lot more skin to seed it’s a bit more tannic, so a bit dryer in the mouth and a bit fuller generally

H: Instantly, it’s almost like it’s gone up a notch. Packs a punch, but absolutely delicious and again going back to the lady who we saw in the VT, there is something immensely satisfying about red wine. It just makes you go…ahhhhh…I’ve come home! In moderation. What would we eat with this red wine?

A: What I thought would be a good match is something a bit fattier which combines with those tannins, so we’ve gone for a duck salad. Generally people maybe match pinot to it, but I think cabernet sauvignon should go well

H: OK great, well let’s have a look then at the duck salad and we’ll see if it goes together. Again, these are all summer dishes, the type of thing you like to eat. Outside as well, there’s nothing better than…well you know all about that!

A: Family and friends, music playing, kids playing, playing cricket and adults having nice wine and food

H: This is one of the nicest shows I’ve ever done! I could be here all afternoon! Shall we do an extended edition today? Be here for an hour! Delicious! You have blown my mind with this, because it’s almost as though it’s been something that I haven’t tried, because you are conditioned into thinking red wines are for winter and the lighter wines are for the summer months. It’s something you’re just told

A: Exactly. And I think people need to stop being so afraid to experiment with wine and food and just try things. Sometimes it may not work, sometimes it will

H: Absolutely. And do you think sometimes it could be a little bit of snobbery when it comes to wine?

A: Yes, definitely and that’s why at Lindeman’s we’re trying to say go and try things. Nothing is right and wrong, wine’s there to be enjoyed

H: And with cool dudes like you as their front men, they’re doing well. They say good things come in threes, so let’s have a look at third one that we have down here

A: This is my favourite of the three, it’s the bin 50 Shiraz. You’ll see plum-y, berry, almost peppery characteristics in there. All American oak in this one, which generally makes it look a lot sweet than it actually is

H: I must admit, I do like those pepper tones in a glass of red wine, so if Georgie can bring in the other glasses. Thank you! This is the third one

A: So generally in Australia, Shiraz and barbeques are always mentioned in the same sentence

H: They go hand in hand, and there is something…it sounds quite party-esque when you say “shiraz”! So I know that we’re tasting the wine today, we are sampling the wine today, but if I was at your home and you were serving me with other people around, how much would you put in the glass?

A: I’d generally put about a third of glass. You can always come back for more, but it does mean you can swirl it, you can tip it and have a look at the colour. So looking at the colour you can get an idea of what the variety might be, whether it’s a light or a dark wine, whether it’s an older wine, because it might have a brick red hue rather than those purple hues, so a lot of taste isn’t just the mouth, it’s the eyes and the nose beforehand

H: Great. And what are people talking about when they talk about the legs?

A: Legs are when you swirl the wine, and you can see this ring. The steaks that come down the side of the wine

H: Well, I think mine’s got cracking pins then. Look at that! I’m impressed! So let’s smell this one then. It smells amazing! I always feel really bad for the people working behind the scenes when we do shows like this, because you can just hear them chomping at the bit wanting to come and join us

A: There might be a little left over for them. Might be!

H: That’s my one!

A: It’s quite rich, but smooth and soft

H: Really delicious. So what would I be eating with this Shiraz?

A: Definitely barbeque, from barbeque steak…anything smoked goes really well. Those smoky flavours in the Shiraz

H: Well, we do know how you do it in Australia, but here, we really do like a barbequed sausage, so let’s see how that would go with the sausage. I’m regretting the fact I’ve had my lunch today! So let’s see if that works. It really does, actually!

A: It needs a red wine to stand up to those smoky characters of barbeques and grills

H: Yes, and it’s really smoky when we cook it! Quite charred! I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this part of the show, it’s been lovely, thank you very much. Don’t go anywhere because coming up next it’s time to have a look at all of your questions

Break

H: Hello, we’re still here at Taste Talk, I haven’t had any more to drink. I think I’m going to hold back until the end of show now. Thank you very much for all of your questions, we’re live. Lots of you have sent them in actually, a subject close to lots of people’s hearts I should imagine! So let’s go then, this one’s from Emma Steed and it’s from Facebook and it says; “What is the best way to store red wine?”

A: I guess the best way is to have your own cellar, but if you’re like me, you can’t afford to build an underground cellar. The most important thing is to keep the temperature constant, so it’s not so much the temperature the wine is, but to make sure it hasn’t got those fluctuations. I store it in polystyrene containers, which is quite a cheap way. Put them in the cupboard, it means you can’t see them, so you don’t keep going into the cupboard and raiding it all the time and you can get surprises when you open the box up and find them! But generally, make sure it’s a stable temperature, in the dark, maybe in the cupboard at 10 degrees, would be a good temperature to keep them in

H: Brilliant. Emma, I hope that helps. This one is from Howard Mitchell and he says; “What reds are best to serve chilled?”

A: Again, I think the lighter to medium bodied styles, so something like a pinot would be perfect. Medium bodied shirazes, merlots, cabernets that we’ve had today. But not the really big alcoholic styles or tannic styles, they don’t suit chilling so much, but 14 - 18 degrees during summer, err on the side of the cool

H: And don’t be afraid to experiment, like you say

A: Exactly. Don’t serve them like a white wine at 10 degrees, that might be a bit too cool for them, but do experiment, it’s all personal preference

H: Great. This one from Harry who is in London. Thank you Harry. He says; “What type of characteristics make up a good red?”

A: Again, it depends on the variety so a pinot, you’re not looking for that really deep, dark, colour. Also, it depends on the age of the wine, so if it’s a young wine you’re looking for fresh, vibrant, fruit characters, whereas as aged wine or an older wine, you’re looking for those more developed characters, maybe like tobacco or leathery characters. Smell and taste are something that’s in harmony, it’s not too acidic, it’s not too tannic, it’s not too alcoholic. Again, it’s personal tastes. You might like a lighter bodied red whereas I might like something a lot deeper, so…

H: And trust yourself. Everyone’s so worried about what I should be tasting, what I should be smelling. If you like it, you like it and that’s fine as well. So we’ve got time for one more question. This is from David in Wandsworth; “What are your top tips for drinking red wine? Are there any good vintages at the moment?”

A: For Australian vintages it’s been quite strange in that all the even years recently have been exceptional vintages so 2000, 02, 04, 06,08, they’re all really good vintages. Tips for drinking red wine? Basically if you enjoy it, tell people about it, and listen to what they have to say about the wine. It’s all about having fun with the wine, talking about it and enjoying it. That’s what wine’s there for

H: Paul, this has been so insightful. You’ve really turned my head. I’m absolutely going to go red this summer. Thank you very much. I’ve really enjoyed it. I think maybe you want to come back and consider doing a series? Once a week? I’d be happy! The rest of you, if you’ve enjoyed what you’ve heard today and you want to want to find out a little bit more, pop along to the website lindemans.com. See you again soon.