Last week, on one of those sunny April days when the air is cool yet filled with the balmy promise of summer, I had lunch with a friend on the patio of Luxe Bistro in the Byward Market. We were pushing things and we had to ask for an umbrella to be put down because we were too cold in its shade.
But after a winter that was long and cold — long and cold for me, anyway, no matter if meteorologists insist that it was warm — the chance to pretend it was summer was irresistible.
The first wine we ordered, a California Grenache, was out of stock. I'm never happy when this happens but, in the spirit of the day, I put on a sunny face and made another selection. It was a Grenache-Mourvèdre-Syrah blend, also from California, and it proved to be a perfect match for Luxe's bruschetta appetizer, which we shared, and pretty good with the steak and frites that followed.
After the initial disappointment, the wine service was very good, but my friend and I spent a bit of time comparing recent wine experiences in restaurants. I mentioned that I've returned quite a few wines at restaurants lately, not because they were faulted, but because they were too warm. I have no idea what some restaurateurs think they're doing when they serve warm red wine, but they're certainly not paying attention to wine storage.
Too often, wine is stored in the restaurant itself rather than in a dedicated space. If you're feeling nice and warm in a restaurant, and the wine you order is retrieved from a rack in the same room, you can expect a nice, bathwater-temperature wine that will generally feel coarse. The alcohol will be accentuated, the wine will lack freshness, and you'll feel an unpleasant sensation when you drink the wine. Think of room-temperature milk.
Red wine should feel cool in your mouth when you sip it. If it feels warm or even the same temperature as your mouth, it's too warm. Ask for it to be put in a bucket of water and ice until it cools down. It's annoying, but worth it.
The wine we ordered at Luxe was just the right temperature, and after our server had poured the wine, she tried to find a shaded place on the table to put the bottle, even though the air was cool. Then she suggested bringing an empty bottle-cooler. It worked perfectly, and the wine stayed at the right temperature throughout our meal.
I can't stress enough the importance of temperature, especially as we head toward summer and outdoor dining and drinking. Wine that's too warm or too cold just doesn't taste the way it should.
Right out of the fridge, and you can't taste the fruit and the acidity is accentuated. Too warm, and it becomes unbalanced and coarse.
It's not so difficult to get temperature right inside a restaurant, but a patio or deck present particular problems. Make sure they're dealt with so that you can enjoy your wine properly, without having to guzzle it quickly so that it doesn't have time to warm up.
Interested in tasting a range of Spanish wines from the LCBO General List? "Tasting Tempranillo" is a tasting of Spanish reds (plus a Cava and a Sherry), each with a tapas dish. It's at Nicholas Hoare Books, 419 Sussex Dr., at 7 p.m. Friday. Order tickets ($50 plus GST) by calling 851-1785 or e-mail events@thesavvygrapes.com.
Four delicious wines today.