The budget supermarket brings you chill-able red wine to get you through the heatwave.
After a brief respite from the scorching summer weather, this week will see the return of 30-degree temperatures and sweat-drenched clothes/bedsheets/pretty much everything you come into contact with.
However it does also mean the reappearance of chilled evening tipples like rosé wine, G&Ts and Aperol spritz.
Cabernet, it was nice to have you back for a week but it’s again time to say au revoir until the autumn.
Or is it?
One supermarket is determined not to let red wine die out during the summer months.
Bargain store Lidl has launched a range of red wines, including one that – shock horror – is best served from the fridge.
That’s right, what you may have previously thought of as the ultimate wine faux pas is actually being encouraged.
The light and easy-drinking Vin Art Villányi Portugieser comes from a grape that is grown in Hungary and is blended with a mix of fruits.
Lidl’s wine experts suggest that you drink the £6.99 2015 vintage lightly chilled to bring out its intense oaky taste. Or pair the 12% plonk with cold meats or stuffed mushrooms for complementing flavours.
‘Not just any red qualifies for chilling,’ says Lidl UK’s consultant Master of Wine Richard Bampfield. ‘Leave blockbuster Cabernets in the wine rack until Autumn.
‘What you want are light, fruity examples with lower alcohol and softer tannins. Time in the fridge will increase the freshness, so the wines taste juicier and even more appetising.’
Best way to chill your summer red? Pop it in the fridge for 25 minutes before you’re ready or take it out to the garden with you and plunge into an ice and water filled ice bucket.
If you don’t want to wait, drop a couple of ice cubes into your glass, but don’t leave them in there for too long or they’ll start to dilute the wine.
Forgetful drinkers – maybe substitute the ice for frozen grapes. You won’t have to remember to remove them and they’ll make your drink look a summer cocktail.
And our top tip? Served in a chilled glass to keep it cooler for longer. Plus all the top wine bars do it so you’ll look like a proper connoisseur.
