Quel vin avec des aiguillettes de canard ?

When the thermometer climbs past 30 °C, put away the tannic reds and the sweet wines, too heavy for the heat, and go for freshness: lively whites, dry rosés, sparkling wines and light reds served cold, between 8 and 15 °C depending on the colour. A hot-weather wine is fresh, easy to drink and low in alcohol, served well chilled rather than at room temperature. Here is how to choose, glass by glass, from white to light red, and how to keep it cold until you pour.

Heat doesn't just change what you feel like drinking, it changes what you taste. The hotter it gets, the more the alcohol shows and the harsher the tannins of a big red feel. Acidity, on the other hand, quenches thirst, and freshness slips down on its own. That's the logic of summer: you want a wine that refreshes and stays light, not one that weighs you down. Three adjustments are enough: lower the alcohol, play up the acidity, and serve colder than usual.

Which white wines to drink when it's hot?

Dry white is the summer reflex, as long as you pick it lively and taut rather than rich and oaky. Look for acidity, moderate alcohol and little or no wood. Thirst-quenching whites turn up in almost every region: a Muscadet from Nantes, made from the melon de Bourgogne grape and aged sur lie (on its lees, which adds body and freshness), a Sancerre or a Touraine from Sauvignon, a Chablis or a Bourgogne Aligoté, a Picpoul de Pinet by the Mediterranean, a dry Riesling from Alsace, a Jacquère from Savoie. They all share one thing: they refresh.

Our tips for white wine in hot weather

Serve it well chilled, between 8 and 10 °C, but take it out of the fridge ten minutes early: too cold, a good white loses its aromas. Go for the latest vintage, the one that kept the most tension. And keep the bottle in an ice bucket at the table, never in full sun.

Which rosé for a heatwave?

Dry rosé is made for this. A pale, lively Provence rosé as an aperitif, a firmer Tavel at the table, a Languedoc or a Côtes-du-Rhône rosé with grilled food: freshness comes first, sugar is best avoided. Steer clear of off-dry, sweet rosés, which cloy quickly in muggy heat. A good heatwave rosé is dry, fruity and taut.

Our tips for rosé in hot weather

Serve it between 8 and 10 °C. Choose it dry and recent, and keep it cold from the start of the meal to the end. A gastronomic rosé, with a little more structure, will even hold up to grilled meat.

Sparkling wine to cool down the aperitif

Nothing refreshes like a well-chilled bubble. A Champagne, a Crémant from Alsace, the Loire or Burgundy, a Blanquette de Limoux or a pét-nat (a lightly sparkling natural wine) give an immediate sense of freshness, often at a lower strength than a still wine. It's the ideal option when the heat cuts your appetite.

Our tips for sparkling wine in hot weather

Serve very cold, between 6 and 8 °C. A brut nature or an extra-brut, with little or no added sugar (dosage), are the most thirst-quenching. Open at the last moment and rest the bottle back in the ice between pours.

Can you drink red wine when it's very hot?

Red can seem out of place, but it has its role, as long as you choose it light and serve it cool. Forget the powerful, tannic, oaky reds, which turn heavy and drying above 30 °C. Go for thirst-quenching reds, low in tannin and fruity: a Gamay from Beaujolais such as a Morgon, a Brouilly or a Fleurie, a Pinot Noir from Burgundy, Alsace or Sancerre, a light Cabernet Franc from the Loire such as a Chinon or a Saumur, a Cinsault from the South. Served cool, they drink like a white.

Our tips for red wine in hot weather

Give them twenty minutes in the fridge before serving, between 12 and 15 °C. The rule of summer: better a red that's a touch too cold than one that's too warm. And never drop an ice cube in the glass, which waters the wine down; use a bucket.

What are the best wines to drink during a heatwave?

It depends on the moment and on what's on the plate. Heat calls for light dishes, and the pairing follows the same logic as the wine: freshness, lightness, acidity.

For the aperitif, in the shade

A well-chilled bubble or a lively white opens the appetite best. With tapas, olives or melon, a dry rosé or a Picpoul does the job.

At the table, over a summer meal

With a salad, grilled fish or vegetables, stay with a dry white or a rosé. With grilled meat and white meat, a light red served cool takes over. With melon and cured ham, a white or a rosé rather than a red.

At the picnic and by the water

Take wines that are happy drunk young and cold: rosé, Gamay, Muscadet. A cool box and an ice bucket beat a fine cellar left at home.

Bonus: our tips for serving wine cold

A bottle left at room temperature on a heatwave day is already too warm. Here is how to take back control.

An ice-water bucket cools faster than the fridge: a mix of water, ice and a handful of coarse salt brings the temperature down in ten minutes. Allow five minutes more for a rosé or a light red than for a white.

Always serve a little colder than the target: in a glass, under 35 °C, wine warms up fast. A white at 8 °C will be perfect for as long as it takes to drink it.

Skip the ice cube in the glass, which drowns the wine. If you have nothing else, a wine stone or frozen grapes chill without diluting.

Keep bottles in the shade, never in a car or on a table in the sun, and set a jug of water beside the glasses.

Drinking wine in the heat is nothing complicated: lower the alcohol, raise the acidity, serve colder. A taut white, a dry rosé, a bubble or a light red passed through the ice, and summer goes down without ever weighing you down.

The rest comes down to the bottles. On Avenue des Vins, you order them straight from the winemakers, at cellar-door prices, shipped from the estate: enough to fill the cool box with thirst-quenchers, with no middleman.

Frequently asked questions about wine and hot weather

What wine should you drink when it's very hot?

Go for freshness and lightness: a dry, lively white such as a Muscadet, a Sancerre or a Picpoul, a dry rosé, a well-chilled sparkling wine or a light red served cool such as a Gamay or a Pinot Noir. Avoid tannic, oaky reds and sweet wines, too heavy above 30 °C.

What temperature should you serve wine at during a heatwave?

Count on 6 to 8 °C for sparkling wines, 8 to 10 °C for whites and rosés, 12 to 15 °C for light reds. Better to serve a wine a touch too cold than too warm: in the glass, it warms up fast.

Can you drink red wine when it's hot?

Yes, as long as you choose it light and low in tannin and give it twenty minutes in the fridge. A Gamay from Beaujolais, a Pinot Noir or a Loire Cabernet Franc served around 13 °C drink almost like a white. Powerful, oaky reds, on the other hand, are best avoided.

Should you put ice cubes in wine when it's hot?

No, ice dilutes the wine and washes out its aromas. Prefer an ice-water bucket, with a handful of coarse salt to cool it faster, or wine stones. Save the ice for a spritz or a proper sangria.

Which wine for a summer aperitif on the terrace?

A well-chilled bubble such as a Champagne, a Crémant or a Blanquette, or a lively white, opens the appetite best in muggy heat. With tapas or melon, a dry Provence rosé or a Picpoul de Pinet also work beautifully.