Sarah on May 15, 2013 8 Comments What do you do before serving your wine? Do you throw your whites in the fridge and keep your reds at room temperature? If that is all you do then I’m afraid you could be doing a disservice to your favorite wines. There is a science behind wine serving temperatures that, if mastered, can help you to discover the full experience each wine has to offer. Too Cold If a wine is served at a colder temperature than it should be, you run the risk of losing tastes and aromas in your wine, leaving only the tartness. Putting ice in wine (please don’t EVER do this), causes it to be completely tasteless and odorless. A wine tasting experience is dependent upon the entire varietal bouquet being fully experienced—this depends upon smell as much as taste. Too Warm If a wine is served warmer than it should be than you will have a heavy, one-dimensional tasting experience. Berries tend to be overemphasized when wine is too warm and the alcohol factor can be over-dramatized. Serving (Just Right) Red Wine Red wine should be served between 55 and 68 °F. To get more specific, light, fruity red wines should be served between 58 and 62°F. Full-bodied red wines should be served between 60 and 68°F. Serving (Just Right) White Wine White wines should be served between 45 and 60°F. To really get it just right, serve light, dry white wines, roses, and sparkling wines between 45 and 50°F. Serve full-bodied white wines between 50 and 60°F. Of course, like all wine drinking practices, everything comes down to your tastes and preferences. Do your own wine tasting experiment and see for yourself how temperature affects your favorite varietals. Having wine at the perfect temperature whenever you need it isn’t as hard as you might think. Wine refrigerators are specifically designed to store wine at your desired temperature, making anytime a perfect time to uncork.
Remi Bryan says May 17, 2013 at 4:24 pm Hi Sarah, What about the different glasses for the different wines? Is that a factor in flavor, I have read that is the case, what do you say? Reply
Sarah says May 17, 2013 at 4:32 pm It is true that each grape varietal has different glassware needs. Bowl shape affects the way the wine hits your nose and tongue. Read our post titled The Importance of Stemware for more information on this. Reply
robert tinsley says April 3, 2014 at 12:09 pm For those of you who don’t own a wine cooler try this little trick .red wines at room temperture but in the refrigerator for 20 minutes not a minute more then uncork,smell,swirl,taste and enjoy.for whites do the opposite if you keep in the refrigerator take out for 20 minutes same process.i think it works better for reds better then whites but it works Reply
Robert Edgington says July 9, 2014 at 6:09 pm What ever happened to serving a classic Bordeaux (1993 Margeaux, say) or any other quality red ‘au chambre’? Reply
Sarah says July 18, 2014 at 7:41 am Hey Robert, If au chambre works for you and your palette, no need to make changes to your routine or over complicate things. The problem with making that a general rule is depending on where you live, au chambre may be entirely too warm. Here in Texas, where I live, au chambre could be close to 80 degrees! Because of this variability depending on location and personal air conditioning preferences, it’s safer to have a general rule of 60-65 degrees for full-bodied reds, such as a Bordeaux. If you are about to pop open a ’93, be sure to decant! There will definitely be some sediment you’ll want to remove before pouring into glasses. Cheers! Reply
Ian Green says February 26, 2018 at 4:19 pm HI……….I bought a small wine cooler for placement under a counter in a bar. This is your 15 bottle cooler with with a small space under the racks.Any instruction manual was missing. Incidentally I bought it from Lowe’s in Kyle Texas, near Austin.In reading your suggested ideal wine temperatures I find that the temperature gauge remains at 60 to 61. Even before when fitted it outside the shelf unit it was at 55 to 59.I have taken in the space surrounding the cooler and there is ample air circulation Could you advice Reply
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[…] chilled to mask its low quality; do not make the same mistake at home. Serving your wines at the proper temperatures will allow the flavors and aromas to be adequately […] Reply
