Hats off again to a wine shop in my neighborhood, Dandelion Wine, for offering chilled reds in their cold box(es). Previously I spotted the Prà Morandina Valpolicella. Now, meet the Field Recordings Freddo Sangiovese. Let’s get to know this chillable red.
Field Recordings Freddo Sangiovese 2018 ($25)
This first thing you notice about the bottle is its Coors Light-esque label. (Stay with me….) The Rockies don’t turn blue when your beverage is cold, but the text on the front label does. Hot damn, check it out:
This 100 % Sangiovese wine is 100% from Paso Robles. It clocks in at 11.9% ABV, which would be fine by me for a white wine as far as alcohol levels go. So I’m even more delighted to encounter a red with such a moderate ABV level. And compared to a lot of brawny, pumped-up Tuscan Sangio, the Field Recordings Freddo has significantly noticeable Sangiovese character while housed in a more modest frame. It’s also made via carbonic maceration, a fermentation technique yielding a wonderful fresh fruit pop & a highly gulpable wine.
The moral of the story is Paso isn’t all big wines, Sangiovese can do well outside of Tuscany, and make your fridge love you by stocking it with light red wines to drink nice and cold. (Don’t worry, it’ll warm up a bit in your glass. And then reveal nuance in a delightful, deliberate manner. Or, fuck it, just toss some ice in. That’s how I drank it in the heat & humidity.
