On a visit to Italy some 21 years ago, we were buying our usual peasant lunch to enjoy in the vineyards and had chosen a bottle of Galestro to wash it down. When I told the deli owner we were going to eat alfresco, he immediately fetched a chilled bottle from the fridge. We were talking about eating outside in the fresh air, he understood we wanted a chilled (fresh) bottle of wine.

It seems appropriate that this word, with its different – though not totally unrelated meanings, should generate such diversity of opinion when it comes to the quality of freshness in wine.

I began to think about freshness a little more carefully after my colleague, Tim James, discussed this quality in red wine at the recent Aylesford Constantia Fresh festival. He started by saying that there’s ambiguity over the meaning of freshness. Declare a red wine ‘very fresh’ and this could be a euphemism for green or unripe characters, or it could mean it’s refreshing, thirst quenching.

At this event, the question of temperature wasn’t raised, but two recent experiences alerted me to its importance in relation to freshness.

Last Sunday had to be one of the hottest days this summer (until Monday came along!) with temperatures hovering in the high 30ºs. The last sort of weather to enjoy the delights of top end Northern Rhône reds from fairly recent vintages – but that was the theme Cathy van Zyl had selected for her presentation to our tasting group at our monthly get together. She had wisely put the wines in the fridge, so they were at a reasonable temperature for tasting. Initially, #1 seemed pleasantly fresh, though quite forward; as it warmed, so it became less palatable, showing definite signs of over-ripeness and chunky tannins.

We had no difficulty in guessing it was a 2003, a very hot vintage, the likes of which northern European winemakers have little experience with and which left many wines over the top in terms of ripeness and durability, but which drew praise to the extent of 96/100 from Robert Parker. The second wine was much more focussed and expressive, with black pepper and minerally vibrancy, even as it warmed up; its supple texture firmly intertwined with equally lively, fine tannins. Needless to say, we preferred this to the previous wine, though Parker didn’t, awarding 2005 a mere 89/100.

What none of us guessed was that this was different vintages of the same wine – Guigal’s Côte Rôtie. For us, the less ripe, fresher wine was by far the better.

This experience doesn’t apply only to reds. At a recent lunch for a few people who were unable to attend the awards dinner for the Santam Classic Wine Trophy, I tried a very agreeable chardonnay (the bottle was devoid of a label, which had floated off in the ice bucket, I think); it showed balance between bright citrusy fruit and lees-enriched breadth with oaking nicely harmonised. Very much the elegant, restrained style of wine the French judges’ palates are supposed to be looking for in this competition.

A bit later, someone poured another glass of chardonnay. In this I detected some residual sweetness and oak. It was a young wine, so I felt time would harmonise oak and fruit but I didn’t like it nearly as much as the previous wine.

Well, you’ve guessed – they were both the same wine but served at different temperatures, they were pretty much like chalk and cheese.

So temperature can play a role in creating an impression of freshness but the truth will out as an over-ripe wine or one with even a little residual sugar warms up.

Briefly to return to the ripeness issue which, as with most things to do with wine, is subjective.

Cathy had included in her line up two vintages of Alain Graillot’s Crozes Hermitage, the 2006 and 2007; some of us immediately recognised the younger, some the older but they were favourites with all bar one of the group. It’s a wine we know well and love for its purity of expression, its freshness and deliciousness. It also ages well. But give it to Rod Easthope, the Kiwi winemaker who worked in the Cape for several years and is now winemaker at highly regarded Hawkes Bay winery, Craggy Range, and he’ll criticise it for being green.

Whether you prefer your wine under rather than over-ripe or cooler rather than warmer, freshness can play a positive role in its enjoyment.