Who did make the world's first chillable red wine?

The answer probably goes back a lot longer than most of us have been alive but there is a new trend today among winemakers globally to make lighter bodied red wines that work a treat when served lightly chilled. It all began for Wairarapa winemaker Jannine Rickards when she first tasted Foradori Lezer, a chilled red from a town in Trentino, north east Italy, where winemaker Elisabetta Foradori met a difficult vintage by making a light bodied red from it. The rest is history. Rickards has launched her second chillable red wine this year, calling it Kuratea, which translates from Maori to mean light red - and while that may be true of its body, the taste is anything but light. Depth of flavour, totally dry and with more colour than a rosé, Kuratea is one of my go to summer wines. 
 
It is not alone. Cambridge Road winemaker Lance Redgwell makes Rosso from 100% Syrah grapes grown in Hawke's Bay but using winemaking methods to extract a little colour, he has created a structured, smooth and spicy red wine that tastes sensational when chilled. Another chillable red that is brand new and super refreshing is Gamay, arguably the world's first grape to be intentionally turned into chillable red wine. We have several beautiful Gamays in store at Regional; from Dicey, Mt Edward and Te Kano in Central Otago all the way up to Easthope and Te Mata from Hawke's Bay. Not to mention the beautiful Beaujolais we have in store. These are not of the 'nouveau' style at all, but are serious wines, some of which work well chilled while others which come from those heat soaked granite vineyards, are very serious red wines indeed. Pop to buy chillable reds and see the wider range we have in store, both in the fridge and on our shelves.