Whether picking wines for picnics, pub gardens or impromptu nights in, conventional wisdom points us towards whites and rosés over reds, especially when the temperature rises.
A hot summer’s day will understandably see many of us reaching for refreshing, ice-cold options to quench our thirst, often relegating our red consumption to the cooler months.
Yet as savvy wine drinkers know, there’s a wealth of red wine styles that come alive after a little time in the fridge, something that – alongside a recent rise in popularity of lighter-bodied reds – means perhaps it’s time to rethink the summer drinks roster?
Cooling red wine tends to tone down the alcohol and shift our focus toward its acidity, making the wine taste fresher, says WSET wine educator Sam Povey, adding that the best reds for chilling tend to be those that are younger and low in tannins – worth noting before sticking that vintage Barolo on ice. “Beaujolais, the region south of Burgundy that produces fruity wines from the Gamay grape, is the classic chillable red,” he says.
“Also try inexpensive Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc from the Loire Valley and lighter-bodied Garnacha from Spain. Lots of chillable styles can also be found in Italy, including those from the Valpolicella region, the Frappato grape or Lambrusco – a sparkling red wine usually made in Emilia-Romagna.”
For those pairing with food, Povey adds that lighter-bodied, delicately flavoured reds tend to work best with similarly delicate foods – think salads, light meats or more robust seafood like tuna.
And in terms of ideal chilling temperatures, he advises that the lighter-bodied the wine, the more you can chill. “Almost all reds benefit from a little bit of chilling, with the very lightest reds best served after a couple of hours in the fridge,” he says. “Don’t worry about exact temperatures – if it’s too cold, the wine will warm up in the glass fairly quickly. If it’s not chilly enough, pop the bottle back in the fridge while you drink your first glass.”
To assess which reds are best served cold we put a wide variety through their paces, spanning different grapes, styles and geographies.
Best chilled red wine at a glance
- Best for overall: Fleurie Le Pavillon Beaujolais: £15.99, Waitrose
- Best for refreshing sparkling red: Vigna Rossa Lambrusco Blend - £12.50, Svinando
- Best for accessible aperitifs: M&S Found Zweigelt - £9, Ocado
- Best for charismatic summer sipping: Strange Kompanjie Cinsault - £10.49, All About Wine
- Best for English elegance: Lyme Bay Winery Pinot Noir - £27.95, Le Bon Vin
- Best for laidback picnics: Ancre Hill Pet Nat Red - £21, Forest Wines
- Best for elegant easy drinking: Leyda Reserva Pinot Noir - £12.50, Ocado
- Best for crowd-pleasing Beaujolais: Beaujolais-Villages by Louis Claude Desvignes - £13.95, BBR
- Best for sophisticated barbecues: Railsback Freres Carbonic Carignan - £31, Wanderlust Wine
- Best for pairing with seafood: Santa Tresa Rina Russa Frappato- £10.99, Waitrose
From peppy pet nats and lively lambruscos to lighter-bodied varietals from lesser-known regions, here are the best options for drinking chilled this summer.
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Fleurie AOC Le Pavillon Henry Fessy
Best for: overall, pairing with food
One of the most sought-after Beaujolais crus, the town of Fleurie produces some of the region’s most elegant wines, often defined by their silky, light and floral expression of the gamay grape, a variety that feels tailor-made for summer.
We loved this succulent, sophisticated red by Maison Henry Fessy that – after chilling for half an hour before serving – offered up vibrant notes of summer fruits and a velvety mouthful, helped by its low tannins and well-balanced acidity. Light in appearance, there’s enough complexity to pair well with a broad range of dishes including – in our instance – charcuterie platters.
Buy now £15.99, Waitrose
Vigna Rosa, Lambrusco Blend
Best for: refreshing sparkling red
The quintessential sparkling red, stemming from Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region, Lambrusco could be found everywhere during the 1970s and 1980s but its reputation took a nosedive as its mass-market appeal saw standards dip.
Yet recent years have seen this fruity frizzante come roaring back with the region’s winemakers putting a renewed emphasis on quality. This offering – from a family-run company who have been producing Lambrusco since the 1800s – showcases the region’s best qualities, lively, fruity and balanced, with its effervescence and acidity making it a perfect summer thirst-quencher or partner for charcuterie and soft cheeses.
Buy now £12.50, Svinando
M&S Found Zweigelt
Best for: accessible aperitifs
Today one of Austria’s most popular grapes, Zweigelt emerged in the 1920s as a cross between Blaufrankisch and St Laurent varieties, yet beyond national borders its virtues are somewhat lesser known.
Coming courtesy of experienced winemaker Ferdinand Mayr, this excellently priced bottle embodies the grape’s best attributes – a lively, accessible wine with a ruby-red hue that’s fruit-forward with plenty of personality.
Light in tannin and with a racy hit of acidity, there are notes of plum and cherry on the palate, alongside a punchy pepperiness that eases somewhat after opening. Its refreshing, juicy style works well as an aperitif, but also paired beautifully with barbecued chicken.
Buy now £9.00, Ocado
Strange Kompanjie Cinsault Paarl
Best for: charismatic summer sipping
A grape commonly associated with the south of France, cinsault often produces great wines for chilling with their thin skins translating into lower tannins as well as wines that are as fragrant as they are fresh and fruity.
With its translucent red hue and fragrant summer fruit aroma, this naturally produced South African option is a particularly charismatic option, with its origins on mature, unirrigated bush vines resulting in a wine with plenty of character and perfect for bringing to a summer barbecue.
It’s got bags of juicy fruit – think strawberry and cherry – on the palate and a vivid slap of acidity, all offset with a hint of warm spice that comes from a spell fermenting in oak.
Buy now £10.49, All About Wine
Lyme Bay Winery Pinot Noir
Best for: English elegance
While the chatter around English wine has deservedly been increasing over the past few years, it’s typically tended to centre around the spectacular sparklers and flinty whites produced largely in the southeast of the country.
However a string of impressive recent vintages has seen attention turned to the country’s red wine output, too. The Devon-based Lyme Bay winery has released several cool-climate Pinot Noirs that really shine, with this refined option, made from grapes sourced from Essex, particularly characterful. There are hints of berries and spice on the nose and plenty of fruit-forward punch on the palate, making it a star turn for summer socials.
Buy now £27.95, Le Bon Vin
Ancre Hill Pet Nat Red
Best for: laidback picnics
Another British red but this time with a twist, this pet-nat from the hills of Wales taps into the current trend for easy-drinking sparkling reds.
While most reds from these shores showcase Pinot Noir or Rondo grapes, this peppy bottle from Monmouthshire’s Ancre Hill instead focuses on early-ripening Triomphe, using the ancestral method that sees current and previous vintages combined in the bottle to produce a light fizz.
The result is an offbeat nod to Lambrusco, with zingy cherry and strawberry aromas, racy acidity and refreshing, juicy apple and plum flavours that offset with hits of herbs and spice, making it a tasty talking point at any summer social.
Buy now £21.00, Forest Wines
Leyda Reserva Pinot Noir
Best for: Elegant easy-drinking
We loved the directness of this light, bright, ruby-red Pinot Noir from the Leyda Valley in Chile. Grown on coastal slopes tempered by Pacific breezes, this a refined, cool-climate red whose refreshing qualities come to life after a little time in the fridge.
While its fruit-forward qualities are clear – expect strawberries on the nose and bold flavours of blackcurrant and cherry – there’s also a touch of minerality and smoky, herbal notes that add complexity and contribute to a satisfying finish.
Silky, delicate tannins and bright acidity make this a sophisticated, accessibly priced accompaniment for white meats or freshly grilled fish.
Buy now £12.50, Ocado
2021 Berry Bros. & Rudd Beaujolais-Villages by Louis Claude Desvignes
Best for: crowd-pleasing Beaujolais
When it comes to easy-drinking summer reds, the first that often springs to mind is Beaujolais, where thin-skinned gamay grown on crumbly granite slopes to the north of the appellation produces light, bright, often loveable, wines.
London wine merchants Berry Bros & Rudd have teamed up with the eighth-generation owned Domaine Lois Claude Desvignes for this impressive example, made from 60-year-old vines grown high above the village of Jullié.
Made without oak, it’s particularly aromatic, with fresh, floral notes followed by plenty of fruit-forward juiciness that – when served slightly chilled – really sings in warmer weather.
Buy now £13.95, BBR
Railsback Freres Carbonic Carignan
Best for: sophisticated barbecues
Bridging the gap between easy summer drinking and special occasion red, this charismatic Carignan from across the pond is best slightly chilled and makes a memorable toast to warmer weather.
Inspired by cult producers from southern France, the two brothers behind this small Santa Ynez producer in California chose to use partial carbonic maceration, which sees clusters of grapes fermented in carbon dioxide-filled tanks, to keep tannins low and preserve fruit flavours during the winemaking process.
The result is a particularly aromatic red with bold notes of strawberry and cranberry alongside earthy, herbal accents and a bracing hit of salinity stemming from its coastal origins.
Buy now £31.00, Wanderlust Wine
Santa Tresa Frappato 75cl
Best for: grilled seafood
A striking showcase of Sicily’s native Frappato grape, this easy-going red is tailor-made for alfresco summer afternoons.
Grown organically on the Santa Tresa vineyard near the island’s south-eastern shores, this light-hued red is intensely aromatic, with a vibrant nose of cherry alongside more delicate floral and herbal notes. With no oak and little tannin, this is a zippy, lively wine that lets the fruit do the talking, with strawberry and raspberry notes offset by a touch of spice.
In Sicily, the locals pair it with grilled seafood, while we found it also worked well with Mediterranean-inspired tomato salads and fresh cheeses.
Buy now £10.99, Waitrose
Verdict
Switching your attention to the lighter end of the red wine spectrum draws out a stunning range of delicate styles and grapes that are perfect for chilling.
Among those we tasted, the Henry Fessy Le Pavillon Fleurie was a particularly sophisticated option, offering all the fruit-forward freshness expected from the gamay grape alongside enough elegance to pair with a range of food.
Elsewhere, the revival of Italy’s sparkling Lambrusco has resulted in some fabulous new-wave frizzantes, with the blend produced by the region’s Vigna Rossa a crowd-pleasing addition to any summer gathering.
