Light red wine: the red that doesn't weigh you down
234 light red wines, from €12.50A light red is not a diluted red. It is a wine whose tannins stay in the background, where fresh red fruit comes before structure, and which can be served at around 14 °C without falling flat. It goes with what powerful reds overwhelm: poultry, a vegetable dish, a pressed cheese.
Pinot Noir provides the largest share, but Gamay, Cinsault and a few mountain grape varieties give the same profile. The origins that appear most often in our range are France, the United States and New Zealand.
Crystallum - Peter Max 2024
A wonderfully elegant and fragrant Pinot noir.
Matías Riccitelli - Old Vine From Patagonia Bastardo 2024
A micro-production from Riccitelli, worked on finesse and elegance.
Birichino - Saint Georges Pinot Noir 2023
A superb Californian Pinot noir, made with finesse, freshness and deliciousness
Delicato Wines & Alex Gittins - Shadow Point Pinot Noir 2019
A delicious and charming Pinot Noir from the Monterey Valley
Goldeneye - Pinot Noir 2019
A precise and complex Pinot Noir from the Anderson Valley
Cruchon - Coteaux de Trumao Pinot Noir 2021
An intense and vibrant Pinot Noir from Chilean Patagonia
Tetramythos - Mavro Kalavrytino nature 2024
Mavro Kalavrytino, a rare grape variety from the Peloponnese
En route - Pinot Noir Les Pommiers 2019
A magnificent Pinot Noir with a rich and silky texture
Ferraris - Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato "Sant'Eufemia" 2025
A fine and aromatic wine made from Ruché, an indigenous grape variety from Piedmont
Bousquet - Pinot Noir Reserve 2024
An altitude Pinot Noir with notes of undergrowth and spices
Dalrymple - Pinot Noir 2022
A complex and elegant Pinot Noir from the island of Tasmania
Thomas Leithner - Zweigelt 2013
The estate that created Zweigelt, an iconic Austrian grape variety with peppery flavors.
La Famille K - Le Père Rouge 2018
A Beaujolais from century-old vines combining structure and delicacy
Jay Christopher - Basalte Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 2018
A world-class Pinot noir, with notes of spices and undergrowth
Storm - Vrede Pinot noir 2018
A true local wine, this Pinot Noir expresses purity, elegance and aromatic depth
NZ WINERIES & Samantha Bailey - Cloud Factory Pinot Noir 2020
A fresh and delicious Pinot Noir, grown near the coastal areas of New Zealand
Koehler Ruprecht Saumagen - Spätburgunder Trocken 2020
A delicious and nervous German Pinot Noir, with notes of forest fruits
Matetic & Guillaume Letang - Sierra Grande Pinot Noir 2020
A delicate and elegant Pinot Noir with flavors of wild ripe fruit
Peregrine Estate - Pinot noir 2015
A Pinot Noir that combines purity and elegance, concentration and length.
Crystallum - Bona Fide 2024
A haute couture pinot noir, with superb aromatic complexity.
Goldeneye - Confluence Vineyard Pinot Noir 2018
A world-class Pinot Noir from California's northernmost vineyards
Crystallum - Mabalel 2024
Single-plot Pinot noir from the coolest place in Crystallum
Boutinot - El Infernillo Pinot Noir 2021
A Pinot noir from northern Chile, made with finesse and freshness
Rippon - Mature Vine Pinot Noir 2017
An elegant and refined Pinot noir, grown on the banks of Lake Wanaka
Grape varieties that produce a light red wine
The single word “light” covers very different wines. This table separates what comes from the grape variety from what comes from the climate.
| Grape variety | What he gives | Where can it be found in our country | The dish that goes with it | In our country, starting from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pinot Noir The most represented in the range | Cherry, raspberry, undergrowth. Silky tannins, lively acidity. | Burgundy, Oregon, New Zealand, Patagonia | Roast poultry, grilled salmon, mushrooms | €13.80Santa Rita Secret Reserve |
| Gamay | Banana, crushed strawberry, almost no tannin. | Beaujolais, Loire, Switzerland | Charcuterie, raclette, picnic | €16.50 |
| Cinsault | Redcurrant, peony, a very fine weave. | South Africa, Languedoc, Chile | Grilled vegetables, tagine, mildly spicy cuisine | €12.50Matetic The Old Man of the Valley |
| Schiava, trousseau, poulsard | Alpine reds: pale, saline, almost translucent. | South Tyrol, Jura, Savoy | Mountain cheeses, deli meats |
A red wine can also be lighter due to the climate rather than the grape variety: a high-altitude Syrah remains finer than a Syrah from the plains. See full-bodied reds for the opposite.
Three bottles to enter the profile
The charts give the theory. Here are three bottles available today, at three price points.
The admission fee
A Chilean Cinsault crafted by a French winemaker. Redcurrant, white pepper, no gripping tannins.
Matetic El Viejo del Valle · €12.50Pinot Noir on a budget
Santa Rita Secret Reserve, Leyda Valley. Black cherry, a hint of smoke.
Santa Rita Secret Reserve Pinot Noir · €13.80Step up a notch
Patagonia, high-altitude vineyards, winemaking without artifice. The Argentinian Pinot Noir that put Chacra on the map.
Malma Chacra la Papay · €16.50
Light doesn't mean small
Lightness is often confused with a lack of substance. A great Burgundy Pinot Noir costs more than a powerful Cabernet and weighs half as much on the palate: finesse is the hardest thing to achieve. What a light red seeks is fruit precision and length without the weight.
It's also the most versatile profile at the table. Where a tannic red demands red meat, a light red goes from fatty fish to cheese without ever dominating.
How do you choose
We automatically discard light red wines, those that are pale because the harvest was poor. The key indicator is the finish: if it is short and dry, it's a thin wine. If it remains fresh and mouth-watering, it's a fine wine.
The Wine Wanderer Team
What we're being asked about light red
A light red, do you serve it chilled?
Between 13 and 15°C, yes. Twenty minutes in the refrigerator before serving is enough. Served at 20°C, the alcohol takes over and the fruit disappears.
What's the difference between this and a fruity red?
Lightness refers to the structure, fruitiness to the aroma. A wine can be fruity and full-bodied, like a Primitivo. A light red wine has few tannins, regardless of its fruit. See fruity red wines.
Does it keep?
Great Pinot Noirs age very well, for ten years or more. Entry-level Gamays and Cinsaults should be drunk within three years, that's when they're at their best.
What to serve with a vegetarian dish?
This is the best profile for this: low tannins, no conflict with vegetables. Our vegetarian pairing guide details difficult cases, such as artichoke and asparagus.
Why so little Gamay in the selection?
We source from independent winemakers around the world, and Gamay is still predominantly French. Cinsault and Pinot Noir meet the same need with greater diversity of origins.