Women + Wine

Katie Rice & Sarah Pierre

Rice owns VinoTeca in Inman Park and Pierre owns 3 Parks Wine Shop in Glenwood Park..

Last year’s column about chillable reds was a hit, so we wanted to recreate and update with our new finds for this summer’s selections. Let’s start with what makes a wine “chillable.” Any wine can be served at any temperature you desire however, warm Champagne is not great, and a powerful Barolo becomes silenced when too cool. The perfect balance of temp for red wine really comes from preference: we like a nice cellar temp of 55 degrees for most reds, but some just crush straight out of the fridge.

We sat down with VinoTeca Sommelier Janeen Jason to talk about our favorite summertime red wines and to get suggestions on when to put a chill on it.

Janeen’s first piece of advice is to look for wines that are unoaked and aged in alternatives such as stainless steel, amphora, and concrete. You can usually find this information from your friendly neighborhood wine retailer, but the internet can also help.

She says, “no oak allows for a purer expression of the fruit notes and typically means a lighter wine.” Secondly, Janeen suggests looking for thin-skinned grape varietals such as Pinot Noir, Gamay, and lesser-known varietals include Trousseau, Grolleau, and Negrara. Janeen’s third rule of thumb is the most transparent: “look for clear bottles. Wineries choose them to let you know what you’re getting into. Generally, these wines are not meant for aging and are meant to be drunk young.” It is also easy to gauge the wine’s color. With thinskinned grapes and no oak, the wine tends to be vibrant, see-through and a full spectrum of color from ruby to purple.

Lastly, look for naturally made wines. These are produced with minimal intervention, so most often without oak, and have little to no sulfites added.

Janeen’s top selection is a 2021 Cantina Furlani ‘Alpino Negrik’ Vino Rosso from Trento, Italy. This wine is made with the varietal Negrara by Matteo Furlani, who is known for his sparklings, but took a chance on a unique grape indigenous to the Alps. Grown at over 700 meters in elevation, the name Alpino tells the story of the fresh flavor delivering more mineral notes than fruit. The texture is crunchy and natural with an almost fluorescent crimson color. Drink with Caprese salad and Italian-inspired charcuterie while pontooning around Lake Lanier.

Number two on Janeen’s summer love list is a 2021 Fossil and Fawn’s ‘Do Nothing’ from Oregon. This wine is composed of both red and white varietals that change every vintage. The grapes are farmed organically, fermented wholecluster with carbonic maceration that leads to an almost fruit punch-like juiciness. Natural tannins from the skin are accentuated by its fermentation process. The name “Do Nothing” is exactly the sentiment required to enjoy this wine – chill it, sit back, and don’t leave your patio.

A third pick also hails from the U.S. – 2020 Subject to Changes “Sleepless Nights” from Mendocino County, California. Winemaker Alex Pomerantz makes well-crafted, natural wines that always come from a single vineyard. The Sunhawk Farm Vineyard, where this wine hails from is farmed biodynamically and has a blend of random varietals such as Grenache, Muscat, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, and Viognier to name a few. The vines are co-planted, harvested and fermented together. The wine is footcrushed, unfined, and unfiltered. The flavor profile is brambly blackberry mixed with floral notes mixed with hints of spice. It’s almost like red wine and white wine had a baby. Pairs well with Buford Highway Korean BBQ on a Saturday afternoon.

Janeen then takes us to Spain and the deepest of our wines with the 2019 Gulp Hablo Red blend from La Mancha. The Parra brothers are committed to organic farming, low intervention, and making friendly, quaffable wines all in a 1L bottle. Like the Sleepless Nights, this wine is a co-fermented blend of both red and white varietals but grown in a hot and arid dry riverbed known for rocky soils that help to stress the vines enough producing a high concentration of flavor including black and red berries, purple flowers and wet stone. Enjoy chilled with chorizo, Manchego while overlooking Old Fourth Ward Skatepark.

Katie takes the reigns for the fourth wine with a winery she recently visited in Austria. 2020 Koppitsch ‘Rét’ hails from vineyards that overlook the Neusiedl am see, a large, shallow body of water known for its steady breeze in the foothills of the Alps. Alex and Maria Koppitsch are biodynamically farming vineyards planted by Alex’s grandfather with indigenous varietals, but the family has roots that date back to 1523. They still use their grandfather’s press and fermentation tanks and are strong believers in a low environmental impact and natural wine movement and this wine is a perfect example. Made from both Zweigelt and St. Laurent, this wine is both fruity and spicy with tons of red fruits including cranberry and raspberry. Pairs well with shooting the ‘Hooch’ with a belly full of bratwurst.

Sarah is sending us to southern France with 2020 Mas des Caprices ‘Rouge a Sirator or R.A.S., a Pays d’ Oc wine made with Grenache, Mourvedre, and Carignan. Biodynamically farmed and made by husband-and-wife Pierre and Mirelle, the name appropriately translates to “a red to sip.” This beautiful red is bright and juicy with a hint of herbal spice that feels like you’re sipping wine on a lavender beach. The siblings use concrete instead of oak for aging which preserves the freshness of the wine. Sip while gorging on carnitas tacos on the patio at El Ponce.

Just because the temperatures hit double digits doesn’t mean you have to forgo the red wines. Treat yourself this summer to some refreshing reds and chill out!