The perfect serving temperature for wine

Have you ever had a glass of wine that was highly recommended but disappointed you, or were you disappointed by a wine you loved before? Maybe the wine wasn't served correctly. Temperature and glassware can significantly affect the aromas and flavors of a wine, as can the practice of decanting. Understanding how and why will help you decide what's best for your particular wine and occasion.

Here are some serving temperature guidelines for different wines as well as quick solutions for chilling or warming a bottle.

When it comes to serving temperature, a wine has to be just right. Too hot, and the alcohol of the wine will be stressed, making it flat and limp. Serving a wine that is too cold can result in the aromas and the flavors becoming muffled, and for reds, the tannins may appear hard and astringent. Too often, white wines are served straight from a refrigerator, while red wines, at an excessively high room temperature, neither of which is ideal. What's "just right" for you is a matter of personal taste, but here are some general guidelines:

Light dry whites, rosés, sparkling wines: Serve at 6° to 10° C to keep their fresh and fruitiness. Think crunchy Pinot Grigio and Champagne. With Bubbles, cooling ensures that the bubble remains fine instead of frothy. It also applies to white dessert wines; sweetness is accentuated in warmer temperatures, so chilling them maintains their balance without destroying their vibrant aromas.

Full-bodied whites and light, fruity reds: Serve at 10° to 16°C to pick up more of the complexity and aromas of a rich Chardonnay or to make a fruity Beaujolais, more refreshing.

Full-bodied reds and Ports: Serve at 16° to 18°C —cooler than most room temperatures and warmer than ideal storage temperatures—to soften the tannins in potent Cabernet or Syrah. And reduce the emphasis on bitter components.

If your wines have been at room temperature, we recommend placing them in a fridge for an hour or two to chill (white or sparkling) to the correct temperature. It also doesn't hurt to warm one for a while too (red wine). On the other hand, a red from a cellar or refrigerator can take up to half an hour to settle at room temperature.

We always state the recommended drinking temperature on the detail page of a wine. It is useful to take, as a rule, to store or serve the wine 1-2 degrees lower. After some (short) time in the glass, the wine will have the ideal drinking temperature

Warm-up or cool down

Need a quick solution? If the wine is too warm, submerge it in a mixture of ice and cold water - this cools a bottle faster than ice alone, as a larger portion of the glass comes into contact with the cold source. It can take about 10 minutes for a red and up to 30 minutes for a sparkling wine. You can even keep a bottle in the freezer for 15 minutes. (Remember, or the wine could freeze and push the cork out!)

If the wine is seriously too cold, decant it into a decanter rinsed with warm water or submerge the bottle briefly in a bucket of warm water, but don't try anything with fire, microwave, or oven. When the wine is only slightly cold, simply pour it into glasses and use your hands around the bowl of the glass to warm the wine

Keep in mind that a wine served cold will warm up in the glass, while a warm wine will only get warmer. It is always better to start slightly lower than the target temperature.