The Auswine Forum

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Well, nearly nothing ought to be drunk at Australian Summer room temperature - unless you've got spectacularly effective air-conditioning. And given that most experts seem to recommend a total serving temperature range that spans from around 9C (for Champagne) to 18C for heavy reds, I suspect the recommended temperature for Gamay (of which Beaujolais is made) to be around 12-13C - not much warmer, if any, than a top white Burgundy.

Of course, if it's a particularly nasty Beaujolais, I gues you could chill it down until it's drinkable...

cheers,
Graeme

Hi Guest,

It depends on what level of Beaujolais you are drinking. If it is the, usually, quite simple Nouveau, I'd recommend serving from the fridge, but even then not icy cold. Villages level Beauj can also be served with a chill, but as you go up in the levels to the Cru's I would only be bringing them up to room temperature, with a bit of refrigeration if it was a hot day, as I have needed to do several times this Summer with a number of medium to full bodied red wines, from Pinots to Cabernets & Shiraz (I think my cellar is too warm! Doh!) Beauj from Morgon & Moulin au Vent, among others, can have substantial tannins & over chilling will only accentuate the tannins & can make them taste overly bitter.
My general rule is not to over chill any wine, whites or reds, as I want to be able to experience all the flavours they can offer, rather than mute them. Of course having said that, there's alot of wine out there that can benefit from a really good chill, as you may like to mute the flavours!
The only gamays I have experienced have been from Beaujolais, but I believe when they are made as a single varietal in the New World, they are usually designed to be a lighter beaujolais villages style type wine, but I'd be happy to be corrected if people know of more serious attempts that may be produced, but therefore as a general rule, I'd treat the in the same way, perhaps just a light chill.
Hope this helps, enjoy,
lantana

lantana wrote:Hi Guest,
My general rule is not to over chill any wine, whites or reds, as I want to be able to experience all the flavours they can offer, rather than mute them. Of course having said that, there's alot of wine out there that can benefit from a really good chill, as you may like to mute the flavours!

The thing is, in an Australian summer, you are better erring on the side of over-chilling wine and letting it warm up in the glass (for which you'll only have to wait a very short time) than pouring it at 24C and then wishing it was cooler. At a very low-key work lunch in Blacktown some weeks ago we were served a Wynns Shiraz 01 which was 'room temperature' - which was to say about 26C. It tasted rather like someone had concocted a soup of alcohol and pepper! There's no way you can cool down a wine once it's in the glass!

cheers,
Graeme

GraemeG wrote:The thing is, in an Australian summer, you are better erring on the side of over-chilling wine and letting it warm up in the glass (for which you'll only have to wait a very short time) than pouring it at 24C and then wishing it was cooler. At a very low-key work lunch in Blacktown some weeks ago we were served a Wynns Shiraz 01 which was 'room temperature' - which was to say about 26C. It tasted rather like someone had concocted a soup of alcohol and pepper! There's no way you can cool down a wine once it's in the glass!

With you on this one Graeme! I prefer to sip my way through a glass of wine rather than glugging it, so they all get chilled in this climate. The glug rate increases though as they warm up! Must admit that the bouquet is muted big time when the wines are too chilled. Maybe that's why I tend to swish the wine around the mouth for quite a while where it warms up to an appropriate temp to get the full palate experience before swallow time.

Cheers

daz

GraemeG wrote:

lantana wrote:Hi Guest,
My general rule is not to over chill any wine, whites or reds, as I want to be able to experience all the flavours they can offer, rather than mute them. Of course having said that, there's alot of wine out there that can benefit from a really good chill, as you may like to mute the flavours!

The thing is, in an Australian summer, you are better erring on the side of over-chilling wine and letting it warm up in the glass (for which you'll only have to wait a very short time) than pouring it at 24C and then wishing it was cooler. At a very low-key work lunch in Blacktown some weeks ago we were served a Wynns Shiraz 01 which was 'room temperature' - which was to say about 26C. It tasted rather like someone had concocted a soup of alcohol and pepper! There's no way you can cool down a wine once it's in the glass!

cheers,
Graeme

Graeme,

I'm agreed with you here, nothing worse than warm wine, I was merely saying that when drunk too cold, you may miss the full experience the wine has to offer, but your point about letting it warm up in the glass is a good one.
Good drinking,
lantana

Daryl Douglas wrote:

GraemeG wrote:The thing is, in an Australian summer, you are better erring on the side of over-chilling wine and letting it warm up in the glass (for which you'll only have to wait a very short time) than pouring it at 24C and then wishing it was cooler. At a very low-key work lunch in Blacktown some weeks ago we were served a Wynns Shiraz 01 which was 'room temperature' - which was to say about 26C. It tasted rather like someone had concocted a soup of alcohol and pepper! There's no way you can cool down a wine once it's in the glass!

With you on this one Graeme! I prefer to sip my way through a glass of wine rather than glugging it, so they all get chilled in this climate. The glug rate increases though as they warm up! Must admit that the bouquet is muted big time when the wines are too chilled. Maybe that's why I tend to swish the wine around the mouth for quite a while where it warms up to an appropriate temp to get the full palate experience before swallow time.

Cheers

daz

It's a marvelous moment when the wine begins to get to it's correct temperature in the glass. You can't miss it!! Happened to me all the time over in France where the wine was always served from the winter cellars which, domestically speaking, were always around the 10 degree mark or lower. A lot of the cheaper wines like Beaujolais Nouveau were just plain terrible and had to be drunk at just the right moment before they became undrinkable again IMHO. I always appreciated the Village at good picnic temp, around 14-15 is not too cold on a summers day, but once again not my fave.

regards,

lantana wrote:
The only gamays I have experienced have been from Beaujolais, lantana

indeed Oz examples of gamay are rare, however, the Bass Phillip version (not nearly as well known as the pinots) is stunning, a remarkably fragrant, full, intensely flavoured pinot-like drop that has the capacity to age well. Sorrenberg also does a credible version, & Eldrige Estate (Mornington, Vic) 2000 was a most enjoyable wine.

There are some pretty good examples of gamay being produced in Ontario, Canada. In the right hands it can result in a very cab sauv like med to full bodied wine, with serious aromas and flavours. Believe it, I was as surprised as you may be, not being a fan of 90% of the beajolais I have tried. 13th street, Daniel Lenko, are a few labels that put out a consistently good product.