Nomadic Wines

Serving wine... what temperature?

One of the most common mistakes made by wine drinkers (experienced and inexperienced) is serving wine at the wrong temperature. Why does this matter? Well, my limited experience says that you sometimes only get half the wine experience when you serve wine at the wrong temperature. If someone tries a wine at the wrong temperature, he/she might mistake the dislike a great wine.

So what is the right temperature and why?

• To start, a wine coming out of the fridge usually clocks in at 35 degrees; from the cellar it usually is at 60 degrees, and typical room temperature is over 70 degrees.


• For white wines, the ideal temperature is around 50 degrees. This means you should usually take it from your cellar and pop it in the fridge for a short time. If it is starting at room temperature, use an ice bucket to cool it down.


• Red wines should be served around 65 degrees. If served too warm, the alcohol can over-exert itself. If you buy red wine and it is at typical room temperature, dunk it in an ice bucket. If you have a cellar, just open the wine at that temperature and watch it develop.

So, to summarize:

• Do not serve white wines straight out of the fridge; serve red wines slightly chilled.


• Do not be shy about asking restaurants to serve your wine at the correct temperature.


• Chilling can be done very easily with an ice bucket.


• Lighter bodied reds could be served at even lower temperatures.

Good luck!

Labels: education, temperature, wine

posted by nomadfromcincy @ 4:27 PM