Every now and again I noticed Kurt leaving the party to put more red wine out in the snow. I’ve always preached the benefits of lightly chilling red wines (especially the lighter variety), but it seemed a bit extreme when the outside temperature was around -20. But Kurt knew what he was doing and provided us all with red wine at the “˜perfect’ temperature. A shade cold for the first few sips ““ but refreshing, then bursting with bright flavours for the rest of the bottle.
Kurt was pouring Palacio’s Rioja which hits my favourite middle ground in red wine ““ offering both vitality and nourishment. Charm and ruggedness. It tastes of wine and not all that cocao/mocha/vanilla stuff that’s all the rage in reds. Perfect for at least 80% of the situations in life. Just for fun or with food. Look for it at a major LCBOs.
This Rioja (and the Cotes du Rhones from last fall) are examples of the wonderful $15-ish wines available today. Keep reading.
wine style: Medium-bodied Red
BODEGAS PALACIO GLORIOSO 06 Rioja Crianza, Spain 340844 Vintages) $15.95
I love how a lightly chilled red opens up in my glass as it warms up. I think chilling reds slightly is the best advice you could give a wine drinker.