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The Right Temperature to Serve Wine

Or "Can I get another ice cube for my Zinfandel?"

by Mike Supple
published: 09 Dec 2009       | Comments

If you enjoy your red wine on ice and your white wine steaming in a mug, you are likely to get some strange looks - but you're not breaking any rules. When it comes to serving wine, the "right" temperature depends as much on your personal preference as it does anything else.

Tradition of course dictates that white wines are served chilled and red wines at room temperature, but that still leaves room for questions. First, why? And second, does room temperature mean the temperature of my house, my office or my cellar?

The "why" is fairly straightforward. The temperature of a wine affects the flavors, aromas and overall balance of the wine in your mouth. Chill a wine too much and you'll mute the flavors and aromas. Drink it too warm, and it can taste hot - like alcohol - and will feel disjointed or heavy in your mouth.

The second question is a bit more problematic because the meaning of the term "room temperature" varies too much. It can be anywhere from 60 - 80 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on your geographic location and your ability to pay your utility bills. The average room temperature in both homes and restaurants is closer to 70 - 75 degrees. This is actually a bit too warm for most wine and will adversely affect the smells and flavors.

For red wine, the optimal serving temperature is between 60 and 65 degrees. This is a bit cooler than the average room temperature. If you pull a bottle off your counter and drink it at 72 degrees, it will probably taste just fine. However, it's possible that the extra edge of fire in the back of your throat would be quelled if you chilled the wine just a bit before serving. Cooling the bottle those extra couple of degrees may also help balance your wine with the food during dinner. Sticking a bottle of red wine in the refrigerator for 15 - 20 minutes is not only ok to do - it can often make your wine taste better.

For white and sparkling wines, the optimal temperature range is between 45 and 50 degrees. You obviously don't want to waste your time carrying a thermometer around just in case an opportunity to drink wine arises - although if you do this, take a picture and I'll post it on the site under the heading "world's biggest cork-dork." But you should know that most refrigerators will chill your bottle of wine well below that 45 degree mark. This means that if you leave the bottle in the fridge for longer than a few hours, it will be too cold. Leaving it out of the fridge for a bit - 15 or 20 minutes before serving - will warm it just enough to allow all the aromas and flavors to come out.

Playing with temperature when you are in your own house is fairly easy to do, but what about when you're in a restaurant? Because the bottle of wine you just purchased is marked up at least 100% (and cheaper bottles in the $25 - $40 range are often marked up 300% or more), you have a right to enjoy what you're paying for. If the white is too cold, put it on the table instead of back in the ice bucket. If the red is too warm, ask a server for an ice bucket and chill it briefly. These steps are not complicated or difficult, and your server should not have a problem with it. In fact, if you're happy, you're more likely to leave a big tip, right?

If you read between the lines here you may have picked up this bonus tip: if you don't like the taste of your wine but can't bring yourself to dump it out because you paid money for it, just stick that puppy in an ice bath. Cold mutes both good and bad flavors, so a nice dip in frigid waters could be just the thing that bottle needs for you to get through it. Just make sure you remember the label and never buy it again.