Heresy, sacrilege, blasphemy, irreverence, an absolute desecration of age-old traditions. These are only a few of the cleaner words that will be hurled by wine purists at the latest innovation from Barefoot Cellars.
Just in time for summer, Barefoot has introduced its latest earthquake to the world of wine, its Refresh series. The wines are made for summer drinking, as they are sweet, flavorful, slightly fizzy and, may we not be struck by lightning, recommended to be served, dare we say it, over ice.
To some, the Refresh series may not be so earthshaking, but to the wine world, it is on the order of a large comet striking a big city on our planet. For over 7,000 years, the idea of putting ice in wine was strictly verboten and definitely frowned upon. Barefoot has been known to fly in the face of tradition to produce wines to please the people and not the critics. With the Refresh series, they have, in our opinion, succeeded beyond even their wildest dreams. It is a style that probably will be copied by other producers after they recover from the initial shock.
The big question: How did they produce a wine with enough flavor to put up with the incorporation of ice while maintaining a respectable flavor and alcohol content? Not meaning to toot our own horn, but we actually figured out how they did it. The answer was so simple, it is probably why no one in the industry thought of it before (toot toot).
The grapes for Refresh wines come from some of the warmer California vineyards; the warmer the climate, the more sugar the grapes develop. Next, the grapes were crushed and fermented in temperature-controlled tanks. When the alcohol content reaches about 9 percent, the wine is quickly chilled to kill the yeast, thus stopping the fermentation. And there you have it, a wine that is naturally sweet without the addition of any sugar (which is strictly forbidden by law) and has sufficient body to support ice cubes without getting weak and uninteresting. We did the math, and two standard semi-circular ice cubes from a modern refrigerator ice cube maker will reduce the alcohol content of 4 ounces of wine by 1.4196 percent.
Kudos to Barefoot for escaping from the ancient traditions and giving the American public exactly what they've been asking for while still keeping the price affordable.
Barefoot Refresh Crisp White ($7)This wine is sweet without being gooey. It is a blend of two of the better white wine grapes, chenin blanc and riesling, so you will know it will have plenty of flavors. It offers melon and pear before ending in crisp citrus.
Barefoot Refresh Crisp Red ($7)Again, two excellent and very popular grape varieties, pinot noir and pinot grigio, were combined to produce a wine that offers the flavors of cherry, raspberry and apple with a citrus finish. This wine is the perfect choice for summertime sangria.
Barefoot Summer Red ($7)This wine is about twice as sweet as the Barefoot Refresh Crisp Red and is an ideal summertime sipping. Made from moscato and pinot noir, this beauty radiates the aromas of blueberry and raspberry and the flavors of peach and citrus. The vintners suggest trying this wine over ice with a wedge of lime; we did and it was great.
Barefoot Refresh Perfectly Pink ($7) This wine is definitely a challenge to the white zinfandel. Made from three popular grape varieties, moscato, white grenache and chenin blanc, it offers a host of flavors and aromas to choose from. The wine features the aromas of Mandarin orange, peach and jasmine, backed up by cherry and raspberry.
Any of the Refresh series could easily result in a dramatic change in your sweet wine preferences.
Nixa resident Bennet Bodenstein is a wine columnist and manages ArticlesOnWine.com. He can be reached at frojhe1@att.net.
