That is the question.
Experts will tell you that we should drink red wine at room temperature. Room temperature in October in Memphis is a little different than room temperature in Paris in October. My opinion is that it should be a cellar temperature in a temperate climate. The fruit will move forward and the tannins will soften. The right answer is that red wine is best when served at 60 to 68 degrees. The answer to the chill question is…chill that baby.
It is amazing how reducing the temperature of a wine from 75 to 65 degrees will change the profile and perception of a red wine. The flavor and mouthfeel changes significantly. Many restaurants store their wine at ambient room temperature that is closer to 75 degrees than a preferred 65 degrees. I am a big fan of asking a waiter for a ice bucket.
Gabby is one of our favorite waitresses and she is quick to get us a bucket of ice to bring down the temperature of our wine and listen to my silly stories
What about adding a few ice cubes to chill your red wine? Sorry, I think it is sacrilege to add ice. Yes, you can drop the temperature, but the dilution of red wine with ice/water is just simply wrong. Some like there red wine with ice. While if that is what you like, that is ok for you. Unfortunately, I am still scarred from someone putting ice in a prized bottle of Phelps Cabernet (my favorite ) that was served at a perfect 65 degrees. Every time I see ice in red wine I get painful flashbacks.
Then again, if my 98 year-old mother wants to ice in her wine, god bless her. Mom has been a firm believer in a glass or two of wine every night. She is 98 and still as sharp as a tack, so who am I to tell her she is wrong. About 5 years ago mom got in a car accident that ended her driving career. She was coming home from dinner with a friend and got in a minor accident about a block from her home in Westhampton. She was visiting us in Memphis a few months later and she told us what happened. Mom started out with: “Don’t tell your sisters, but I probably shouldn’t have had that second glass of wine at dinner. I guess I just fell asleep. The police officer who came to the accident was so nice. He drove me home and made sure I was ok in the house. He even carried the case of wine from the trunk of my car”. Maybe she should have put more ice in her wine.
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