Wine Serving Temperatures

Guidelines for wine serving temperatures.

Reds: In general they should be served at room temperature (or slightly cooler). However, some light reds will be better appreciated if they are chilled for a short period of time (1 hour in the refrigerator is enough) to bring their temperature down to approximately 60*F (15*C).

Whites: They should be served chilled. The lighter the wine, the cooler the temperature can be. Let’s say you should keep a light wine in the refrigerator for 4 hours (after that, chances are it will not get any colder anyway) to bring the temperature down to 42-48*F, while a full-bodied white should be chilled for not much longer than one hour to a temperature around 60*F (same as a light red). If the wine is sweet or very aromatic, around 2 hours in the refrigerator (52-54*F) will do the trick. For restaurants, it is important that this temperature is stuck too, so bringing in commercial refrigeration repair services to tune up your equipment is key to ensure that they are not served incorrectly.

Serving White Wines: Chilled wines are refreshing. Chilling does mask flavor, so the finer the wine, the less it will need chilling. Remember, ice with water in an ice bucket chills more efficiently than just ice alone. Additionally, if you feel that the wine is not getting to the optimum temperature, get it checked by a professional. If you have a refrigerator from a reputed company like Sub Zero, it is best that you get it repaired from a Sub Zero refrigerator repair agency who can find the right fix and even parts required to get it right.

Serving Red Wines: The tannin level in a wine dictates the temperature at which it should be served. The more tannic a wine, the warmer you should drink it. Reds that are low in tannin can be chilled like a full-bodied white. If a red is served too warm, it will become soupy and all you will be able to taste and smell will be the alcohol. As with all wine, serve cooler rather than warmer.