A Guide to Wine Serving Temperatures

When caring for your wines, it's important not to confuse storage temperatures¹ with serving temperatures. All wines should be stored at temperatures ideally ranging between 53 and 57 degrees Fahrenheit, or about 11 to 14 degrees Celsius; failing that, any cool and dark place will do for the casual drinker, though room temperature over-ages wine quickly enough to make it less than ideal for the serious collector. If you're not planning to keep your wines around very long, don't sweat it. Serving temperature, on the other hand, is fairly easy to control, and can bring out the best potential in a wine.

This is because when wine is exposed to air and brought to a certain temperature, it causes chemical reactions that allow unique flavors to rise to the surface.

For starters, you can determine wine serving temperature by using a bottle thermometer², available from your local brewers' shop or a catalog, and this will allow you to keep track of how warm or cool your wine has gotten.

Part of the problem with using "room temperature" as a guideline is that not all locales will be the same temperature.³ Another part of the problem is that a room at 70 degrees Fahrenheit will actually be too warm for most wines, including reds.

As a rule, reds can be served between 59 and 64 degrees Fahrenheit, or 15 and 18 degrees Celsius. There are individual ideal serving temperatures in this spectrum - Bordeaux and Shiraz near the high end, Chianti and Zinfandel at the low end, Cabernet and Pinot Noir in the middle. Not only will the temperature bring out flavors, a glass enjoyed slowly will change over the course of the drinking experience as it warms, which can be a pleasurable experience.

White wine should be served between 45 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit, or 7 and 10 degrees Celsius. Ice wines should be served coldest in this range; Chardonnay should be served warmest.

The difference between a wine served at the right temperature and a wine served at room temperature, or at the temperature of a normal refrigerator, is sizable. A too warm serving temperature will cause sharp alcohol flavors to come out, while allowing wine to be served too cold will neutralize the more subtle flavors in the wine, and leave all wines tasting the same.

If you don't have a specialized wine storage area in your house, one good way of achieving the right temperature is to store your bottle in the refrigerator, remove it some hours before your engagement, and keep track of the temperature using that thermometer. Or, if all else fails, at least a few experts condone the common ice cube.