How to Serve Wine at the Proper Temperature

Proper wine serving temperature is, to a great extent, a matter of personal taste. However, experts have determined that different types of wines have different ideal serving temperatures. These temperatures were found to best bring out the flavor of the particular type of wine. This article offers some basic steps to follow when choosing a serving temperature for your wine, and dispels some misconceptions that people have about this topic. Again, people should decide for themselves how to best enjoy their wine. Temperatures are given in degrees Fahrenheit.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. First, note that many people believe that that white wine is best served right out of the refrigerator (about 40°), and red wine is best served at room temperature (about 70°). Experts have found that in most cases, these are not the ideal temperatures to best bring out the flavors of these wines. Additionally, the ideal serving temperature for dry, full-bodied wine of any type is different than that of sweeter, lighter wines.

2. If you don't want to get too hung up on details, consider following this general advice: Place red wine in the refrigerator for 15 minutes before serving. The original convention for room temperature serving was developed hundreds of years ago in the days of old English castles which had a room temperature closer to 60°. Remove white wine from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving. Many refrigerators are set to about 40°, and most white wines are best served a bit warmer than that.

3. With that said, here are some more specific recommendations. Again, experiment to determine what you enjoy best. Full-bodied, dry red wines are best served in the mid-60° range. Lighter reds should be served in the low 60s. Dry white wines are best served in the upper 40s or lower 50s. Lighter, sweeter whites and rosés should be served in the low to mid 40s. Dry champagne should be served in the mid 40s. Sweet champagne and dessert wines should be served in the low 40s.

4. In general, reds are always served considerably warmer than whites, and within each category, drier and more full-bodied wines are served warmer than their lighter, sweeter counterparts. Cheers!

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[vikki9]

on 12/30/2008 Good to know - thank you!

[thenannysden]

on 12/30/2008 I like how you brought in a little history into the article! 5 stars!

[Darl138]

on 12/30/2008 I like my red wine really cold, I usually add ice cubes. Not a fan of white wine. Great tips.

[MidniteWriter]

on 12/30/2008 Very true, thank you!

[chava812]

on 12/30/2008 HAHA - I'm with David, but I actually do prefer my reds at room temp and my whites chilled, but not cold. I will have to see about playing with those now.