>Hey there,
>
>I live in England, UK. There're very few native English wines, mostly
>because the climate is so poor for the grapes. We had a pop at making our
>own with the fruit from the vine that's strangling half our garden - failed
>miserably, but was... interesting.
>
>I'm a red wine person, myself. No particular reason; I expect whites could
>grow on me equally if I gave them enough time...
>
>Recently remembered an incident about a year ago where I went over to the
>states to stay with a family of American friends. They put on a gorgeous
>dinner one night, with one problem..
>
>They chilled the red, in the fridge, for two hours before serving. >
>Ick...
>
>I can't remember what it was now, but I do recall it was a decent enough
>wine that should not have tasted like that. :-S It wasn't corked, because I
>tried it again the next day (after it had been sat at room temperature
>overnight) and it was absolutely fine.
>
>Natch, I didn't say anything at the time; I just assumed that they either
>didn't drink red much - and put it on for me cause they knew I liked it - or
>they just didn't know any better.
>
>But the more I think about it, the more I wonder... Is this a cultural >difference?
>
>Any brit who can pronounce Sauvignon (sp?) properly won't ever chill red
>wine... But what about ye Americans (or, for that matter, other countries)
>on this board - how do you treat a red?
>
>I'd really appreciate any feedback on this,
>
>Thank y'all
>Raven
Raven, you must be from South England . Actually, in the US it is customary to serve and drink most reds too warm. Here they assume "room temp" means about 85 F. Your host may have tried too hard, or just forgotten the wine in the fridge. OR, he may have assumed that, because it is cooler in the UK, indoors, that you'd like it that way. Cooling any wine is a precarious proposition. Too cool, and the bouquet is absent, the taste flacid, and any character missing. This is true for whites and reds. The temp for each is a bit different, however. Warming the bowl of a too-cool wine in your hands is usually better than drinking it too cool. Some wine snobs will argue that you leave fingerprints, etc. on the glass, but your pleasue is what counts. You found a situation that is atypical in the US, where whites are usually served too cool, and reds too warm.
Hunt
>