Serving Wine At The Ideal Temperature
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Wine serving temperatures are the subject of this part of our wine 101 guide…
The serving temperature of wine is all-important, and it is worth spending a few minutes thinking about it . The old adage that white wines should be served chilled and red wines at room temperature is a useful place to start, but that’s not entirely true.
Most domestic refrigerators keep their internal environment at around 4 degrees, and that is too cold for the majority of white wines. Dry white wines and Champagne of quality should be served at a temperature between 8 degrees and 11 degress (maybe even slighty higher), which is very close to the temperature in the majority of underground cellars for much of the year. Putting white wine in the fridge for an hour prior to serving it will let it to achieve the right temperature, though it can be served right away if it’s been stored in a cellar. Sweet white wines, inexpensive white wines and cheaper sparkling wines should be a bit colder, possibly 4 degrees to 8 degrees, so two and a half hours or so should bring the wine down to an ideal temperature.
Red wines often also require a bit of chilling. The ‘room temperature’ which many see as the ideal serving temperature for red wines doesn’t apply in the warmth of today’s insulated, centrally heated houses. The optimal serving temperature for many fine red wines is perhaps 14 degrees to 18 degrees, somewhat cooler than modern houses, although this was a common temperature indoors in the past. Therefore, many red wines, unless stored somewhere suitably cool, will benefit from half an hour in the refrigerator.
If not done with care, wine can be damaged when it’s temperature is changed. Gentle cooling in the fridge is best, with cooling in a bucket of water and ice also being a good option. It will have the effect of bringing the wine down to 0 degrees, which is far too cold to fully appreciate the wine, so you’ll need to remove the bottle before it gets this far. The risk of damaging wine is more significant when trying too warm a bottle that is too cool. Warm the wine gently, ideally by looking forward and bringing the wine from its cool storage area (whether it be a fridge or a cellar) several hours in advance. Many are tempted to try and speed up the process by placing the wine near radiators or other sources of heat; doing so will damage the wine.
If uncertain with regards the serving temperature, it’s best to play safe and serve the wine a little too cold. Wines like that will soon warm up in the glass.
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