This text is part of the special Pleasures notebook
In the summer drinks section, the traditional rosé is increasingly giving way to red wine… cold. We take a look at these summer products with Jean-Benoit Hinse, the founder of the Bromont Wine Festival, and Élyse Lambert, spokesperson for the event.
“This summer, it’s red with thirst!” For Élyse Lambert, sommelier and holder of a Master Sommelier, the trend is obvious: wine lovers are increasingly opting for light, low-tannin, fresh and lively reds. In the winery, these vintages are designed with a very short maceration, i.e. the contact of the juice with the grape skins. We are thinking in particular of Beaujolais, always in fashion, Pinot Noir worked in a certain way, or even certain Côtes-du-Rhône where Grenache is very present.
“Regions that in the past had more robust signatures are now bringing us new styles, like Roussillon,” says Élyse Lambert. As proof, she cites Domaine Gardiés and its red On s’en fish, designed specifically to accompany fish. The sommelier also cites a recent red favorite from the vinho verde region: Anselmo Mendes’ Pardusco, made from alvarelhão, a local grape variety.
We therefore put these reds in the refrigerator for half an hour to an hour before opening them, to serve them around 8-10 °C instead of the usual 16-18 °C. Domaine Père Anselme, a producer of Côtes-du-Rhône, has also named one of its vintages Rouge Frigo.
“Thirst-quenching reds work very well, especially at this time of year,” confirms Jean-Benoit Hinse. The former sommelier at Maison Boulud and Auberge Saint-Gabriel is now co-owner of the wine bar Le Roux and the instigator of the Bromont Wine Festival. “They’re not as popular as rosés, but we’re definitely seeing an upward trend!” We should therefore be able to taste several of these thirst-quenching reds from here and elsewhere at the event, which is holding its first edition this weekend with the aim of democratizing the wine world.
At the crossroads of trends
If this type of red works well, it is in particular because it joins several other trends in the world of wine, starting with a taste for less woody products, with little tannin and a hint of acidity. “These reds are a change,” explains Jean-Benoît Hinse. “It’s interesting, people are discovering something else. And it’s refreshing and pleasant to drink; the aromas are almost reminiscent of a fruit punch…”
Another current trend: low-alcohol wines, at a time when wine lovers are increasingly moderating their consumption or opting for mocktails and non-alcoholic beers. Finally, light reds come from, among other places, cool climate regions, such as Quebec, which is in line with the current craze for local products and indigenous grape varieties.
“Winemakers have understood that there is no point in over-wooding their wines. Today, we are proud to serve these really lively, tangy Quebec wines, to be drunk chilled, and with hybrid grape varieties that often have very few tannins,” says the co-owner of Le Roux. He also highlights the growing interest of customers in countries previously less known for their wines, such as Austria, which produces some very fine vintages of these thirst-quenching reds.
50 shades of red
While the trend in rosé in recent years has been for very pale, even colorless, dresses, some, such as Tavel, have presented vintages at the crossroads, very colorful and similar to red. In the same way, some thirst-quenching reds are reminiscent of rosés. “Winemakers who did not want to make a “pool rosé” or Provençal style went towards thirst-quenching reds,” analyzes Élyse Lambert. “They offer reds that behave like rosés, approaching the claret category, and very “glouglou.”
The sommelier also links this craze for fresh reds to the latest, very similar trend: that of “blouge”, resulting from the fermentation of white and red in the same vat. After the fashion for orange wines, which is noticeably running out of steam, and the indestructible rosés and whites of the terrace, we are therefore opting for light reds this summer. The objective remains the same: to find freshness in wine.
This content was produced by the Special Publications Team of Dutyrelevant to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part in it.