You may remember during our Welcome to Wine blog series, the importance of serving wine at the appropriate temperature. If served too cold the aroma and flavour characteristics of the red or white can be completely concealed, making for a very inaccurate tasting experience.
This past Christmas, WineCollective’s Amber received a WineWatch, which she highlighted as her favourite gift. After bringing it into WC headquarters, this small gadget was not only extremely useful during a tasting, but also proved our top tips on wine temperature.
After refrigerating the Bodegas Artadi 2010 Artazuri Granacha, we wrapped the WineWatch thermometer around the bottle. It gave us a reading of 12° Celsius for our first round of tastings. We then allowed the wine to reach 15° and 17° Celsius before trying it again. Here is what we found!
12°
Eyes: Purple core in colour that trails to ruby red around the edge of the glass.
Nose: Friendly and filled with raspberry fruit, but no other distinction.
Mouth: Cool with high acidity. While refreshing, the fruit characteristics are all muted and impossible to pick apart.
15°
Eyes: No difference in colour.
Nose: What used to be a fruity feminine aroma is now more masculine. Black pepper spice notes along with red fruits.
Mouth: More balanced and rounded with lower acidity. Ripe strawberry and raspberry flavours on the palate. Finish is smooth, but short.
17°
Eyes: Deep garnet with minimal trail to edges
Nose: Stronger spice on the nose woven with dark cherries and nutmeg.
Mouth: Juicy dark cherry and raspberry lushness. Rounded complexity of earthy notes. Long and dry finish.
After our wine tasting experiment, the WineCollective tasters agreed that the Granacha was best at 17° C. While the red wine was refreshing when cold, all of the aromas and flavours were revealed more with some warmth and time in the glass.
You can find the nifty WineWatch at retailers across Canada including The Bay, Home Outfitters and even at Willow Park Wine & Spirits.