What exactly are chillable reds?
By Becky Garrison
So, what exactly are chillable reds? And for wineries, is this simply a flashy trend whose popularity will fade over time or a new way of producing and marketing wine that speaks to the changing consumer wine preferences in the US?
To help answer these questions, I surveyed a curated selection of Pacific Northwest winemakers, who hail from a region known for producing world-class award-winning wines. Evan Rose, reserve winemaker for Stoller Family Estate (Dayton, OR), describes chillable reds as “a style of red wine defined by balance, bright acidity, low tannins, and freshness. These qualities allow the wines to feel lifted and expressive when served slightly chilled, without losing depth or structure.” Piper Underbrink of Sealionne (Newberg, OR) adds that their chillable red called Phoque Red is “fruit forward with a large fruity bouquet that isn’t tamped down by the chilling of the wine. This wine is a Pinot Noir designed to be more vibrant and electric – a wine that is enjoyable and easy to drink.”
In the estimation of Dusty Jenkins, head winemaker for Gilbert Cellars (Yakima, WA), chilled reds offer a “Goldilocks” solution for modern wine drinking: light yet complex, refreshing yet expressive. “They’re easy to sip, incredibly food-friendly, and versatile across seasons and settings. They are approachable for casual drinkers, but interesting enough to spark conversation for those who want to dig deeper,” he notes. Along those lines, Robert Gomez, co-founder of Hoqueteus Wines (Walla Walla, WA), equates a chillable wine to a “gluggable wine” that is “fresh and quenching that benefit from a good chill slightly lower in temperature than cellar temperature.”
Producing Chillable Reds
When crafting a chillable red wine, John Grochau, founder and head winemaker for Grochau Cellars (Amity, OR) points to the need to choose grapes known for fresh acidity that are harvested on the earlier side of ripeness to showcase more of what he describes as a “crunchy” expression of the fruit. He adds that fermentations should be overseen lightly to limit the extraction of tannins and the wine should not be aged too long, to preserve the zesty freshness of a youthful wine.
Kelsey Albro Itämeri, owner and winemaker, Itä Wines (Walla Walla, WA) describes how she makes her carbonic Zinfandel using a method called carbonic maceration, a technique popularized throughout Beaujolais in producing light bodied red wines such as Beaujolais Nouveau. She starts with 100% whole clustered grapes that are not destemmed. Then she adds carbon dioxide to top, which serves to create an environment where intracellular fermentation will start to happen within the unbroken berries. As the enzymes from each grape begin to ferment a little bit, they will convert some sugar into alcohol while also absorbing tannins from the skins.
For Gilbert Cellars, Jenkins’ produces a Nouveau made using Pinot Noir grapes that begins with whole-cluster carbonic maceration, followed by pressing and completion of fermentation off the lees. It then undergoes malolactic fermentation in neutral oak. They also offer a TV Wine made using a relatively traditional approach, but its uniqueness lies in the co-fermentation of red and white grapes, finished in stainless steel like white wine. Both wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered.
Gomez’a Nouveau of Syrah, a 100% carbonic red released every November of the same year of the harvest, is the most “chillable” of his reds. When selecting grapes for us in his chillable reds, Gomez looks for younger vines with a higher juice to skin ratio and earlier picks. Carbonic maceration allows him to get his wine to a lighter, less tannic style while amplifying the wine’s fruity character, thus resulting in a wine that is low in alcohol and high in freshness.
Stoller Family Estate’s Whole Cluster Pinot Noir is also made via carbonic maceration. Rose opines how this method heightens aromatics, softens tannins, and preserves fresh fruit, making it especially refreshing when served slightly chilled.
Some winemakers like Thomas Monroe, co-founder of Division Wine Co. (Portland, OR), ferment their chilled reds in closed-top stainless steel or concrete tanks. For carbonic maceration fermentations, they will begin by adding carbon dioxide, which they push through using a CO₂ gas or dry ice. Once the primary fermentation creates enough CO₂ there is no need to add more. Over 10 to 20 days, the skins will release the juice. which needs to be tasted daily to ensure the ferment is strong and that too much tannin is not being picked up. He has observed a rise in people experimenting with blending red and white grapes together using different CO₂ ferments or post ferment blends.
Itämeri finds the ensuring result from this low-intervention winemaking is a dry red wine with no residuals, which they then age in neutral French oak barrels. Most winemakers age their chillable reds in neutral oak barrels which gives the wine a smooth taste on the palate. Some winemakers like Underbrink choose to age their wine in 100 percent stainless steel for eight months. “This preserves the fruit forward characteristics and creates a super easy smooth red wine,” she reflects.
When Kiona Vineyards and Winery (Benton City, WA) planted the first Lemberger in the United States, they did not set out to produce a chillable red. Rather as General Manager JJ Williams recalls, “This hearty cultivar produced a pretty affable, easy to drink crowd pleasing wine without a lot of expensive élevage or cooperage expenditure. Their Lemberger style is very fruit-forward, but not light like a Gamay or Pinot Noir; rather, it is bold, like the Cabernets grown in the Red Mountain AVA. Unlike Cabernet, which necessitates a lengthier oak program, Williams notes they can put this wine in neutral oak barrels for eight months to achieve a smooth taste.
Canned Chillable Reds
Tiquette Bramlett, founder of Portland-based Henderson Ave Wines, chose to produce a chilled canned red blend wine as she saw a gap in the market for a red wine that is not tied to formality or seasonality. “This wine fills the gap between ‘I want something serious’ and ‘I want something fun,’ she opined.
Bramlett and her team approach their canned wines with the same intention as their bottled wine by starting with quality fruit and letting it speak. For the chillable red, that means harvesting at a point that preserves brightness and managing extraction gently, so the wine stays expressive and fresh rather than dense. In this process, they are not trying to force red wine to behave differently. Rather as Bramlett notes, “we’re choosing to make a red wine that’s meant to be chilled. Minimal manipulation, thoughtful fermentation, and restraint in the cellar allow the wine to hold its shape and energy even at cooler temperatures.”
These chillable reds are designed to move easily across cuisines and conversations, made for tables where stories overlap and nothing feels precious.”They are built with freshness in mind. Lighter on their feet, driven by fruit and acidity rather than heaviness or oak. Chilling them does not mute their character; it sharpens it,” Bramlett adds.
How to Serve Chillable Reds
At the Kiona Vineyards’ tasting room, Williams found they had the prefect setup to evaluate the perfect temperature for their chilled wine by experimenting with chilling reds with their red wine fridge (58 degrees) and their white wine fridge (50 degrees). Through experimentation, they discern that the perfect balance for the chilled reds was to move them from the red fridge to the white wine fridge until the bottle reaches 48 to 50 degrees. Most winemakers concur with serving chilled reds in the 45-to-50-degree range though Gomez serves his chilled reds in the tasting room at the cellar temperature of 55 degrees.
For those who do not have a wine refrigerator, Itämeri recommends placing the wine in a regular refrigerator for 15 to 20 minutes. Given most refrigerators are at 38 degrees, be mindful not to leave the chilled wine for much longer as the aim is for a light chill not icy cold as in the case of cider or beer.
Chilled reds connect with Monroe the most when he is looking for a chilled wine for summer sipping that has a little bit more body and structure than most white wines would, and less than most reds. He pairs these wines with foods that have little bit more delicateness to them and nuance. Along those lines, Rose thinks their Stoller Family Estate 2024 Whole Cluster Pinot Noir would work well with an herb-crusted chicken. “The herbs mirror the wine’s baking spice and dried floral notes, while the crispy skin plays nicely with its bright acidity,” he notes. Underbrink also takes a lighter approach by pairing her chilled wine with oysters.
Grochau finds his chilled wines pair great with a charcuterie plate with spicy meats and younger cheeses, as well as chips and hummus. In addition, he discovered that his Convivial, a blend of Gamay Noir and Pinot Noir, is the perfect Thanksgiving wine because the sour edged fresh fruits bring a nice amount of lift to lighten up an extraordinarily rich meal. Gomez also likes to pair his wine with similar hearty spicy and savory dishes like Merguez sausage. In a similar vein, Itämeri pairs with their chilled red with meats have a little bit of char on them like a hot dog. As she proclaims, “Our carbonic Zinfandel is not so expensive that you feel like you have to plan a fancy menu to feel like you have an impressive wine.”
Future of Chillable Reds
Overall, these winemakers find these wines are successful with a younger audience, people in their mid-40s and younger. Grochau notices how the younger wine drinking audience is not tied to ‘traditional’ styles of wines that their parents liked. “They want something that shows a different point of view even from the same grape.” Also, as chillable reds tend to have lower alcohol content and are made more in the low intervention or natural wine camp, they appeal to those consumers concerned about their health.
Since chillable wines tend to cost less to produce than a lot of other reds the overall price point for these wines tends to be a bit lower than other red wines. This makes chillable reds a nice entry wine for budget conscious consumers looking to expand their wine palate. Also, as people are just now tuning into chillable reds, they taste this wine without any preconceived notions of what chillable reds should taste like unlike wines such as Chardonnay that already have well proven flavor profiles.
Finally, Rose points out how climate change may be affecting a growing interest in chilled reds from red wine drinkers of all demographics. “As summers grow warmer, red wine drinkers aren’t moving away from reds, but they are seeking styles that hold their character when served slightly chilled. Pinot Noir’s natural versatility makes it especially well-suited to this shift, and these two wines, by style and intention, deliver freshness, balance, and complexity at cooler serving temperatures.”
