When I talk about chilled red wines, I don’t mean rosé, I mean real red wines that are good chilled, especially in summer!
After all, red wine is intended to be drunk at ‘cellar temperature’ and a European cellar is around 15°C all year, not the 35°+ bottles reach when they sit outside at a barbie during an Australian summer. The best red wines for chilling are light to medium-bodied, with little or no oak, soft tannins and plenty of fruit. Pinot noir and gamay are obvious red wines for chilling, but there are a few surprises too. It’s worth experimenting by popping your favourite light red wine into the fridge for 30 minutes or so before opening it, at least during an Australia summer. To get you started, here are a few of the best chilled red wines I’ve had.
Poppelvej Lille (Adelaide Hills, SA)
I simply can’t get enough of this red wine. Teroldego, a grape indigenous to cool Trentino Alto-Adige in northern Italy, grown in the Adelaide Hills by Danish brothers Uffe and Jens Deichmann, produces a delicious soft red wine plenty of red fruit flavour that’s great chilled. I love it with creamy mushroom pasta as the crisp finish cleans up the richness of the sauce perfectly.
Intrepidus Sangiovese Shiraz (Canberra, ACT)
Mostly sangiovese, with a good whack of shiraz from Yass, I kept going back to this elegant light red wine again and again, finding new things to like each time. I preferred it chilled, but only just, it was delicious as it came back up to room temperature too (just not too warm, please). There’s plenty of vibrant dark cherry, earthy depth and some lovely dusty tannin. Try it with a Nyonya vegetable curry.
Konpira Maru Future Days Red (King Valley, Vic)
This is the perfect chilled red wine, it looks like fun, it’s easy drinking and perfect for a hot sunny day with friends. Don’t talk about it, just drink it. A juicy blend of King Valley pinot noir, dolcetto and sangiovese, it has a touch of spice that makes it sing with Middle Eastern lamb, whether that’s shanks cooked in a tangy yoghurt sauce or a full-bodied lamb & bean soup.
The Little Wine Company Sangiovese (Hunter Valley, NSW)
By now you might be picking up the sangiovese theme. This grape variety, indigenous to Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, is medium-bodied with good fruit and soft tannins, making it one of the ideal red wines for chilling. This one from the Hunter Valley is soft, quaffable and great chilled with a bowl of spicy vegetarian chilli.
Cupitts Little Red (Shoalhaven, NSW)
This tasty blend of pinot noir from Tumbarumba and Hilltops nebbiolo is a soft, juicy easy-drinking red wine that’s great chilled. It’s fragrant with soft tannins and there’s a touch of smoky spiciness beneath the red berry fruit that works a treat with full-flavoured Asian dishes like Balinese sate lilit ikan (see video below).
De Iuliis Sangiovese Special Release (Hunter Valley, NSW)
Like many red wines that are good chilled, this sangiovese from the Hunter Valley has a light body with good ripe red fruit notes (think cherry and strawberry). There’s a touch of savoury spiciness to keep things interesting too, with a hint of white pepper. Fine tannins and a bright acidity make it a delicious partner for rich garlic squid in Spanish paprika-spiked olive oil.
Updated 28 Nov 2025
Yes, it’s OK to chill red wine. Especially during summer and in warmer climates, it can be good to at least lightly chill a red wine. It’s also best to store opened red wine in the fridge to keep it longer.
Red wine is intended to be drunk at ‘cellar temperature’ and a European cellar is around 15°C all year, not the 35°+ bottles reach when they sit outside at a barbie during an Australian summer. It’s also best to store opened red wine in the fridge to keep it as fresh as possible for for another day.
The best red wines for chilling are light to medium-bodied, with little or no oak, soft tannins and plenty of fruit.
Pinot noir and gamay are obvious red wines for chilling, but there are a few surprises too. Sangiovese is a light-medium bodied Italian varietal that often tastes great chilled. It’s worth experimenting by popping your favourite light red wine into the fridge for 30 minutes or so before opening it, at least during an Australia summer.
In summer, to bring a red wine down to cellar temperature, 30 minutes in the fridge is usually enough. However if you’re drinking a soft red wine that you want to serve chilled, store it in the fridge just like a white wine.
Spicy food and Asian dishes often pair well with chilled red wines as the cold wine is cooling and the red fruit flavours and hint of spice in the wine marries well with spice-rich dishes. Chilled red wines often have a good acidity on the finish, making them good pairings for oily or rich dishes too.
