Blog: Dog Days Wine Guide 2/2 | Expertise

Summer dishes
During the summer months there are countless opportunities to buy and cook a wide variety of fresh produce, as stores and markets offer the richest selection. A pinch of patience and a little love for cooking is enough to conjure up varied menus with ingredients that vary daily and are always fresh. High quality salads, vegetables, legumes, fruits, fish, shellfish and products imported from abroad are the prerequisite for at least 50% success of any recipe: inspiration and personal taste complete the work that is served with a wine corresponding to the typologies described above, making any meal, even if quick and improvised, a harmonious symphony of unrepeatable fragrances and flavors.

Serving temperatures
It goes without saying that the serving temperature of a wine is linked to its typology, so that the guest can enjoy the maximum expressiveness at home or in the restaurant. Only in this way can the best characteristics of each product be optimally highlighted. Due to the refreshing character of white wines, their serving temperature is always below that for red wines. On the contrary, it is higher to open the aromatic bouquet and to soften the tannins, especially for mature red wines. Following, you will find briefly the most common serving temperatures for different types of wines. The temperatures may seem very low, but it is important to remember that these are serving temperatures (not drinking temperatures) that take into account that the wine will continue to warm up quickly in the glass.

Wine temperatures in the restaurant
Wine selection and enjoyment in a restaurant can be more technical or sometimes formal. When tasting white wine at the beginning of a meal, the temperature is often considered too high or not fresh enough. The waiter is asked to wait a few minutes before pouring until the wine can cool further in the ice bucket. However, the waiter assures us that the wine was served at the correct temperature. What had happened? The small amount of wine (at 6° degrees from the refrigerator, only then into the ice bucket) quickly warmed up to 11-13° degrees when poured (into a glass which is in a 25° degree warm dining room).

This effect is further enhanced when the guest eagerly swirls the wine to develop the bouquet. The prevailing opinion that the first glass of wine is therefore warmer - because the neck of the bottle is not quite in the champagne bucket, is void because the wine usually comes from the refrigerator and only then moves into the bucket. It is in fact due to the radically different room temperature. Incidentally, this can be avoided by using chilled glasses or pouring a little more wine for tasting, which slows down the heating in the glass.

Storage for home
Without a cellar ideal for wine storage, summer purchases should not exceed the number of bottles consumed each month. While in the cooler regions there are no major storage problems due to the lower temperatures and there is always a cool place in the houses, care must be taken (e.g. in a vacation apartment) at the seaside to store the bottles in shady places that are as fresh as possible and completely protected from the sun. It is important to avoid storing wine bottles for long periods in the refrigerator, which should only be used for short-term cooling. Otherwise, the cork may shrink and the taste may change. If available, traditional bottle cooling in a champagne bucket with water and ice can be used, as well as the addition of coarse salt for faster cooling. - Gerardo [TS05/23]