People look aghast when the see me putting an ice cube into my glass of wine. Shock! Horror! What a barbarian!

Now admittedly this doesn’t happen often but on a hot summer’s evening with the temperature and humidity inching towards triple digits, and my glass of California chardonnay getting unpleasantly warm and syrupy, why not? It instantly cools the wine, makes the affect of the oak less unctuous, and so what if it reduces the alcohol level? Do I really need more of that stuff?

Please note that I am not recommending such a course for a great claret or an old Barolo or Rioja, but a light, every-day summer red, like the Côtes du Rhône, Les Abeilles, Jean-Luc Colombo 2007 ($12) why not? Or even better, start out with it a little chilled.

Jean-Luc Colombo

It’s a fresh and zesty wine brimming with the flavors of dark cherries and blackberries. Light and lively, it’s far less portentous than most Rhône reds, and at 13.5% it’s also low in alcohol, at least by today’s elevated standards.

The grenache/syrah/mourvèdre combination works extremely well here: the grenache bringing fresh, lively fruit, the syrah a peppery spiciness and the mourvèdre structure and elegance to a blend that’s surprisingly interesting and complex in a wine at this price. It is also eminently food-friendly.

This all makes it the perfect summer red to serve chilled with a steak off the grill on a sultry evening when even the thought of a “room temperature” red is enough to make you reach for a chilled glass of beer.

So open a bottle and let it breath in the fridge for an hour – you’ll be surprised how pleasant it is to drink.

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This is the first of two light reds that make for perfect chilled summer sipping so be sure not to miss next week’s offering too, this time from Italy.

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To find this wine near you try www.wine-searcher.com.