It’s time for us to have a little talk about the appropriate temperature for serving wine.
A delicate white, such as a Riesling, should be served downright cold: 45-46 degrees. A heartier white, a Chardonnay or Sauterne, may benefit from a 48- to 52-degree environment in which it can mellow a bit. Lighter reds (Beaujolais, for instance) are best when served on the chilly side, around 55 degrees. And finally, rich reds — everything from Zinfandel to Shiraz to Bordeaux — are at their best when between 59 and 65 degrees.
But under no circumstances should an open bottle of, say, Cabernet Sauvignon, be stored near a sizzling kitchen in an 85-degree room, then served in a glass still warm from the dishwasher. And I wish someone would run right now and tell the entire staff at Minneapolis’s newest trendy wine bar, Spill the Wine.
I went there tonight, not intending to write about the place. It was simply an evening out with my husband — and a preview for me. But the experience was so abysmal, I decided I owe it to every patron in the Cities who cares one whit about whether their wine is oxidized, watery, sharp-tasting, or brown, to say something now.
First off, if you’re going to enter the oenophilic field in the Twin Cities, competing with wine bars such as Lucia’s, Heartland, and even Cafe Barbette, you should hire people who know a little something about, um, wine. . . .We asked our server two questions about the offerings, which was enough to know she had no idea what she was talking about. I ordered the White Knight Viognier (a wine I’d never heard of) and found that though it had a nice, bright opening flavor, the finish was dull and slightly bitter.
I switched to red even though it was 90 degrees outside (and not much cooler at our table): first, a glass of the Estancia Cabernet. I’ve drunk this several times — it’s a not-spectacular but perfectly serviceable dinner wine. The glass that arrived, however, was warm to the touch. And what was inside simply wasn’t drinkable. It was roughly the temperature of the inside of someone’s mouth and had the distinct off-taste that occurs only when a bottle is poorly handled: thrown into the trunk of a car on a summer afternoon, stored next to an oven, or left uncorked for a day and a half.
I rarely do this, but I sent the Cab back and asked once again for a recommendation. The polite but clueless young woman shrugged. So I went with the Parker Station Pinot Noir, another lackluster wine but one, frankly, that’s hard to screw up. This pinot is simple and its flavors quite pliable. The glass, when it arrived (about ten minutes later) was barely passable: lukewarm and thin-tasting, but forgiving in its sweet berry qualities, as I’d hoped.
My husband drank a glass of the Trivento Malbec, a thick Argentinian wine, which he deemed mediocre and. . . .it was the theme of the evening where reds were concerned. . . .far, far too warm.
We ordered a light dinner — the Waldorf salad for him and a Cobb for me — and though neither was bad, each was so uninteresting, we easily could have made a comparable meal at home by opening a package of Dole pre-washed lettuce and squeezing the dressing that came with it out of a little plastic tube.
Our bill for this underwhelming adventure: $43.
I worry about places like Spill the Wine. I worry about the fact that an artsy little location — just east and south of the Guthrie, and only blocks from the West Bank — tin ceilings, black napkins, and an assortment of funky glassware, will convince some people they’re getting their money’s worth and experiencing fine wine the way it was meant to be consumed.
Not so. Someday, this could be a nice place: it has the cool old building, just-outside-downtown vibe, and proximity to the river road, where we enjoyed a nice walk after our meal. But I respectfully suggest that the managers of Spill the Wine should call up someone like Mitch Spencer at Haskell’s, or Bill Summerville at La Belle Vie, and ask for a few basic lessons.
You? Right now, you’re better off buying some nice salads at D’Amico & Sons, stopping at the liquor store for an $11 bottle of McManus Viognier or Bogle Old Vine Zin, and having a casual dinner in the comfort of your own home. Serve the wine at the right temperature and it doesn’t really matter if you don’t have a set of matched goblets. Jelly glasses will do.
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