There are all kinds of rules when it comes to wine. Rules that dictate what you’ll have for dinner, what glass you’ll drink out of, the ideal temperature the wine should be served at and the best season to drink a specific varietal. Red wine is usually reserved for winter, at least according to most oeneophiles (that’s just a fancy word for someone who is a connoisseur of wine).
Let’s face it, there are far too many rules when it comes to drinking wine and the only rule in Summer should be that you have fun, chill and try new things. Forget the wine snobbery, don’t bother sniffing, sipping and uttering pretentious words, drink red wine in Summer and enjoy it anyway you like it.
Let’s start with wine rules. Forget what you’ve read or heard.
Rule number one: There are no rules.
Rule number 2: There are still no rules.
Rule number 3: Drink the wines you like, with whatever you like.
Here are reasons why you should drink your red wine whenever and however you like
Just Chill
You will be amazed at how refreshing a red wine can taste if you chill it before serving and then add some ice when serving.
Adult friendly, ice cold, red wine deserts are a must have while lazing around the pool. Try this very cool ice-pop recipe:
Ingredients per 3 ice-pops
- 12 blueberries
- 5 raspberries
- 4 strawberries
- 29ml of water
- ½ cup Café Culture Pinotage
Method
Squash all the berries in a cocktail shaker, add remaining ingredients and shake vigorously. Pour into ice-pop molds and place in the freezer for six hours.
Summer is the perfect time to mix up a batch of cocktails. Another great one is the Very Berry cocktail:
Ingredients
- ½ glass Café Culture Pinotage (It has distinctive mocha, dark chocolate and toffee flavours with an aroma of fresh berries).
- ½ cup of frozen blueberries
- Ice cubes
- Grated / shaved chocolate
Method
Put all ingredients into a blender then pour into a tumbler glass and place grated / shaved chocolate on top for garnishing.
Host an urban picnic
Pack a picnic basket, blanket, some tumblers and head out to your local park or enjoy an #urbanpicnic. Make sure you pack some cola, an excellent accompaniment to your red wine for a refreshing daytime drink (known as the Katemba).
Rules are there to be broken, but if you still don’t believe you have enough reason to drink more red wine this Summer, here are a couple more good reasons:
- Those who drink red wine seem to have lower risk of heart disease;
- The term ‘one glass’ is always relative;
- Wine bottles have such nice labels, which, if you are honest with yourself is why you brought it in the first place;
- Wine is super portable;
- You can even consume wine in ice-cream form.
