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> The Blog > How to serve wine at the best temperature?	Share

How to serve wine at the best temperature?

Wine needs to be stored and served at the right temperature to achieve the best possible taste.
Because wine is perishable, storing it at extreme temperatures will damage it.

It’s safe to say that most kiwis serve their reds too warm and their whites too cold. Serving wine at the correct temperature is a bit of a challenge. The old adage ‘serve reds at room temperature and refrigerate whites’ doesn’t hold true. If you serve a wine too cool, the flavours will be disguised and if you serve wine too hot alcohol becomes the dominant taste.

Serving a wine at the right temperature is a hard task as you have to take into account several elements like: the presence of tannins, the structure of the wine, its age, the style of the wine...etc

However, to give a few advices, the table below shows advices on serving temperatures according to the variety you are drinking:

39 deg	Warm bath
15 - 17 deg	‘Complex’ Syrah, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec
14 - 16 deg	‘Easy drinking’ Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec
10 – 12 deg	Rose wines
11 - 12 deg	Chardonnay, Viognier, Chenin
9 - 11 deg	Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris
7 – 10 deg	Champagne, Dessert wines
2-4 deg	Fridge temperature

The ideal serving temperature for red wines is around 14ºC to 18ºC, which is cooler than most homes. Therefore we recommend sometimes placing reds in the fridge for about half an hour before serving.

The ideal serving temperature for white wines is around 7ºC to 13ºC, which is warmer than most fridges (typically 4ºC). We recommend storing whites in the fridge and removing them 1 hour before serving. Unless of course you are serving a cheap white then perhaps leave it in the fridge right up until serving to disguise the poor quality!

And, if you have wine leftover consider storing it in the fridge as it will last between 5 to 10 times longer.

Comments (2 comments)

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Posted by Chris on 07 Jun 2011 4:27 PM

Generally agree with your comments especially the recommended serving temperature chart. I have been doing wine tasting demonstration work for eight years and my statement about Kiwis practice with wine would be: "generally Kiwis serve their whites too cold and their reds too cold". I say their reds too cold because you need to look at where people store their wine or where people buy wine. These days the majority of wine is purchased in supermarkets. Apart from wine on the top shelf which is often too warm because it is under lights the red wine off the shelf is too cold. White wine off the lower shelves in supermarkets is about right. Certainly white wine out of the supermarket fridge is too cold. When i explain this to people they are often disbelieving. Time and time again they say "but I thought whites were supposed to be chilled" To which I say sparkling wine yes but not the rest of our whites. I explain that chilling your typical Sav, Chard or Pinot Gris kills the flavour and the aromatics and I invite them to taste the difference at the proper temperature. I also point out that I am serving the wine that they have just said they really liked at the right temperature. Some people say they liked it but needs to be chilled. Well hello!
With cold reds I often warm them before serving simply by placing the bottle in a tall vessel partially filled with hot water (not to overspill) about as hot as your hands can tolerate but certainly not too hot. Leave it in the hot water for about three or four minutes but take the bottle out two or three times and upend several times to gently mix the wine to a consistent temperature.
I have tested customers with the following approach where there has been time. Serve the wine cold straight from the bottle. Then warm the wine as above and taste. Then decant the wine by pouring the entire bottle into a clean empty bottle and tasting. The customer nearly always says the wine that has been warmed and decanted tastes a lot better.
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Posted by Loic on 23 Jun 2011 11:05 AM (in reply to Comment #13)

Hello Chris and thank you for sharing your thoughts about how to serve wines at the right temperature.

The serving temperature clearly has a huge effect on the actual taste of the wine and can enhance or hide some of the aromas. It can affect the perception of tannins as well. There is no need to buy a $100 bottle of Chardonnay if it is served chilled...

I completely share your opinion on the subject and I"m glad to hear that some professionals are actively communicating about this matter!
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How to serve wine at the best temperature?

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