Wines
Posted on September 1, 2020 by Domaine Artefact

Get Your Chill On!

“Thou shalt serveth thy clarets frigid as a chamber two moons after the autumnal equinox”
—Carthusian proverb

I was recently sent an article about the temperature to serve red wine and I thought I would share the article with you as we are often asked “what is the ideal temperature to serve red wine”?

At Domaine Artefact we prefer to serve our red wine slightly chilled and let the wine’s aromatics come alive as it approaches room temperature (California room temperature). I realize everyone has their preference, but don’t hesitate to ask for an ice bucket with a little bit of ice to keep a slight chill on your red wine if you are enjoying the wine at your table over an hour or so!

Check out this brief narrative from Anthony Lynch of Kermit Lynch fame-

“It’s the oldest rule in the book: Serve red wines at room temperature. This oft-repeated guideline makes perfect sense on the surface, but little do most people know the first iteration of the phrase was uttered centuries ago by a nobleman from the northern British countryside, who lived in a stone castle in which the ambient temperature only broke 60°F when the halls filled up for the squire’s annual—and notoriously wild—bash to signal the end of the wheat harvest. (Coincidentally, this is also the origin of the phrase Make it rain Champagne, but that’s another story altogether.) The point here being that reds should really be served slightly cool—cooler than the balmy room temps to which we are accustomed at present day. And it follows that certain occasions call for going even chillier, such as when drinking juicy, low-tannin reds, or during exceptional events like the infamous heatwave of July 1757. We recommend serving them at the temperature of a dungeon in a medieval castle, but an ice bucket will do the trick, too”.

Swing by and “get your chill on” with our fall red wine releases!

Come taste the 2018 Grenache Noir, 2018 Mourvèdre and 2018 Carignan. Our 2017 As the Crow Flies, 2017 Rincon del Diablo, 2017 Syrah and 2017 Petite Sirah are also drinking well and certainly deserve a chill!