I have been drinking a 2006 Regent( a European hybrid developed for
early ripening in cool climates ) red wine recently and have been
amazed at the difference temperature makes.My mini vineyard is in
Herefordshire,in southern England,and whereas I have been making some
excellent dry white wines(as judged by others),I am new to red wine
making.

The year 2006 was very good in England,with all grapes ripening very
well,and earlier than usual.I fermented the grapes on the skins and
with the grapes natural yeast,and achieved full fermentation after 2
to 3 weeks-the grapes were pressed after 6 days maceration.The wine
was matured in gallon glass demijohns for three years,and bottled
recently.I tried the wine in my cool pantry (it has been pretty cold
in England this winter),and was a little disappointed.It had a very
nice fruity nose but seemed a little tannic.We compared it with a
commercial Australian Cabernet ,and was not convinced that mine was
that much inferior.We decided to serve it to our friends at a dinner
party,as English red wine made from English grapes is quite unusual.

The surprise came when I warmed up the wine to about 65For room
temperature.The wine had lost its tannic nature and was very good,with
absolutely no comparison to drinking the wine at 50F.I am well aware
that red wine should be drunk at room temperature,but had no idea that
its character should change so much;it makes it difficult to assess
wine being stored in a cooler place.
I would welcome comments
Michael