A few months back I was with two friends in a sweltering French bistro in Piccadilly drinking a rich red wine that felt like it had been immersed in a pot of boiling water.

Its flavours had boiled off and the experience was, to say the least, not the high point of my wine-drinking life. Not feeling satisfied, I looked at my friends and said we should ask for an ice bucket to cool the wine down.

They took one look at me and said the proprietor was likely to throw me out of the restaurant for committing such sacrilege.

This is in stark contrast to nearly a year ago when, at a celebratory dinner after completing he London to Paris charity bike ride, the hotel restaurant brought bottles of Bordeaux to our table in a well-chilled state. One person at my table expressed his displeasure at such a faux pas, saying the wine had been ruined.

But he was wrong. It was the height of July, the sun had been shining all day and the restaurant was packed. It was broiling in there and beads of sweat were rolling down many a forehead. Serving a red wine in a chilled state at least gave it a fighting chance of warming up to the correct temperature. If it had been served without chilling at all, it would have been too warm, too unappetising.

Now, it’s often a good idea in summer to pop regular red wines in the fridge for 20 minutes before drinking if they have not been stored at cellar temperature. But here’s another idea altogether: Why not try some red wines that can be served lightly chilled?

To do this you will want to go for a lighter-bodied red rather than something deep, brooding and powerful like a Bordeaux or an Australian shiraz. Instead, look to wines made from the pinot noir or gamay grapes since these are low in tannin and light in body. You could also do this with a cabernet franc from the Loire Valley or even a Valpolicella or Bardolino from the Veneto region of Italy.

Wines to try:

Domaine de la Croix de Chaintres 2010 Saumur-Champigny, Loire, France (£8.35, Waitrose Wine Direct)
Saumur is a great place to find red wine made from the cabernet franc grape that is light-bodied, showing red fruits and a herbaceousness that is perfect for chilling. This example is an incredible bargain and well worth seeking out.

Marks & Spencer Beaujolais 2011, France (£6.99, Marks & Spencer)
Made from the gamay grape, Beaujolais is often considered the lesser relation to wines from the northern end of Burgundy, where pinot noir reigns supreme. But this light-bodied wine has fruity aromas reminiscent of cherries and the perfect constitution for chilling.

Marks & Spencer Macon Rouge 2011, France (£8.49, Marks & Spencer)
If you want to venture into pinot noir territory but not completely, travel further north to Maconnais region of Burgundy and give this a try. A blend of gamay and pinot noir, this is light and fruity, brimming with red berries. Should you want to get a little more serious and drink 100 per cent pinot noir, try the Marks & Spencer Cotes de Nuits 2009 (£13.00, Marks & Spencer). This one is made in the same region as Nuits-St-Georges but is much cheaper, yet it has all the cherries, violets, strawberries and blackcurrants the wine is known for.

Marks & Spencer Ripasso Valpolicello Classico 2009, Italy (£8.99, Marks & Spencer)

From Italy’s Veneto region, Valpolicella gained a reputation for being a rather meek light-bodied wine that garnered a lot of indifference, but these days quality levels have improved and the wines are showing much better. This one is fruity,  showing flavours of strawberries, red currants and prunes. While ripasso wines are the bolder versions and you might want to avoid these when chilling, chances are these are the most commonly found in the UK. You can also try the Musella Valpolicella Superiore 2008 (£12.99, Virgin).

And for something completely different:

Scarpantoni Black Tempest Sparkling Shiraz, Australia (£15.99, Laithwaites)
It’s hard to think of a chilled shiraz let alone one full of bubbles. But this is more common than you think and, with a little searching, you might even find a version in your local Tesco or Sainsbury’s. This is packed with black fruits and goes nicely with poultry, if you’ll believe it.

Our new wine blogger Geordie Clarke, tells you all you need to know about wine.

Putting on a dinner parties can be a stressful experience, so the last thing you want to do is find out the wine you’ve chosen is a dud.

The good news is matching wine to food isn’t difficult once you know a few basic rules. And you don’t have to spend a lot either; impressive bottles can be found for £10 or less. The best way to do this is to understand which wines go with which kinds of foods and, above all, to be adventurous and try things you haven’t had before.

For dishes that tend to be salads, white meats, fish or shellfish, white wines tend to be the best matches. If the flavours in the food are subtle or more savoury, go for a wine that isn’t too acidity or sweet, such as a chenin blanc or a pinot blanc. For oysters and other shellfish or seafood, you could even do well with a Muscadet. The trick is that you don’t want the wine to overpower the food you’re eating.

For something spicy, you will want a wine with more backbone, so a riesling or sauvignon blanc might go best with hotter foods. And if the dish has some spice to it, an off-dry or slightly sweeter wine will stand up better than something that is particularly dry.

For red wines, the wine served should complement the style of the dish, so try to match heavy reds with heavy meals and lighter reds with dishes that have more subtle flavours or are lighter in their consistency. For example, a cabernet sauvignon or perhaps one of the bigger Italian wines will go nicely with a roast beef or steak.

If the dish is lighter and has more delicate flavours, or is something like a soup or stew, you could opt for a merlot or a cabernet franc. If you are serving roast turkey or chicken, or perhaps a tuna steak or even pasta, you might want a pinot noir or even something like a Beaujolais.

There are no hard and fast rules in the end, but what you want to do is make sure you aren’t serving a tannic cabernet sauvignon-based wine with something that has delicate flavours or a light and supple wine with a brooding T-bon steak, otherwise neither the wine nor the food will taste as it should.

And finally, when it comes to dessert, the basic rule is that the wine has to be sweeter than what you’re serving. For example, you can’t serve a dry red or white wine with a very sweet dessert. Two good examples of versatile dessert wines are Sauternes and Tokaji.

Geordie’s recommendations:

Whites

Cave de Lugny Chardonnay 2010 Macon-Villages, Burgundy, France (£7.49 Waitrose)

Macon-Villages is a bargain. Classic buttery chardonnay but with crisp lemon notes, it pairs well with poultry and soft cheeses.

Triade Campania Bianco 2010, Italy (£8.99 Waitrose)

This is made from three grapes – greco, fiano and falanghina – and works well with fish and shellfish. With a creamy texture and an aroma of vanilla and peach, an excellent wine at a very low price.

Cave de Beblenheim Pinot Gris Reserve, France (£9.49 Waitrose)

Alsatian wines don’t get enough publicity. This example is off-dry, meaning it is a bit more sweet and floral, but this makes it excellent as an aperitif or a partner for spicy dishes, such as Asian stir fry. It also goes well with smoked hams or fish.

Springfield Estate Sauvignon Blanc, South Africa  (£8.99 Sainsbury’s)

Sauvignon blanc is a go-to white wine for most people. In flavour this sits somewhere between the minerality of a French sauvignon from the Loire and the fruitiness of Marlborough. Perfect on its own as an aperitif or even with mussels or a rich seafood dish.

Reds

Vinchio Vaglio, I Tre Vescovi 2009 Barbera d’Asti Superiore, Piedmont, Italy (£8.99 Waitrose)

Barbera is a grape that makes for versatile wines with wonderful flavours and a strong backbone but is often ignored by the average consumer. With flavours of cherries, dried fruits and woods, this wine goes well with game, venison and meat dishes with deep flavours.

Les Nivieres Saumur 2010, France (£7.99 Waitrose)

Cabernet franc is a grape normally known for making up blends in Bordeaux varieties but in the Loire Valley it stands on its own. Fruity and balanced with some tannin, this makes for a fairly versatile dinner wine that can be matched with meats and cheeses.

Domaine de Marie Faugeres 2010, France (£7.99 Waitrose)

If you want a beautiful red from the south of France but don’t want to pay for Chateauneuf-de-Pape, this blend of Grenache, syrah and carignan will likely tick all the boxes. Full-bodied, rich and spicy gives you mulberry fruit and lots of earthy flavours that will go well with roasts and meat dishes.

Gran Tesoro Garnacha 2010, Spain (£4.07 Tesco)

If you want to go even cheaper than the Faugeres, this is an absolute bargain and yet still peppery and spicy like a good grenache-based wine ought to be. This has flavours of cherries and belies its sub-£5 price tag, going well with grilled meats and other robust dishes.