Chilled Whites Or Warm Reds? Serve Your Wines At These Temperatures
Have you been drinking wine straight off the shelves? Or grabbing bottles at random from your refrigerator? Stop now! Each wine has an optimum temperature at which it tastes best, when the true aroma and flavors come out, in all their glory. Don’t panic, just read our quick guide to wine serving temperatures and impress all those future house guests.
Red Wine
You thought you had red wine all figured out but ‘serve at room temperature’ is a common misconception. The ideal serving temperature for a red wine is between 10 to 18 °C. These temperatures are warmer compared to the serving temperature of other wines as it brings out the complex flavors and desirable tannins in a red wine.
White Wine
White wines are best served between 7 to 12°C to enjoy their pristine notes – fresh acidity and fruity flavours. Never serve a white wine warm, as it suppresses most of the lively flavour compounds of the wine which makes it taste flabby. No one wants that!
Rosé Wine
Rosé wine should be served between 9 to 12°C. This assists in revealing the delicate red fruit aromas and provides a refreshing impact on the palate.
Sweet Wine
The best temperature for serving sweet wines is between 6 to 8°C. The low temperature counteracts the element of sweetness and helps the wine in revealing its true character, as opposed to having a cloyed impact on the palate. Some sweet wines like Port and Madeira should be served at slightly higher temperatures (8 to 12°C) to enjoy the savoury notes.
Sparkling Wine
Ice cold temperatures are a bit extreme, but a sparkling wine should be served at low temperatures ranging from 5 to 10°C. This helps retain the fine bubbles in the glass and results in crispier acidity and bountiful supply of flavours. After serving, the bottle must be kept in an ice bucket to maintain the temperature.
If you have a wine refrigerator, you’re golden. If not, we have some hacks for you to get them at the right temperature:
A wine can be kept in an air-conditioned room (20°C) for four hours, if the room temperature is not the desired temperature for the wine.