The Best Temperatures for Serving Various Wines

Temperature is easily one of the most overlooked, yet imperative, components to impeccable wine service. Consuming wines at the proper temperature is essential to ensuring that bottles show their best, though knowing exactly which temperature to serve specific wines can get slightly tricky-- though fear not! We’ve created a simple breakdown on the best temperatures to serve your wines at to assure they show their best, here.

To keep those bubbles zesty and fresh, serve your sparkling wines the most chilled of them all. Serving icy fresh will ensure that bubbles feel pure and precise, rather than frothy and flabby. However, for high-end bottles and vintage Champagne, serve slightly warmer, as chilling the wine too much can mute those highly developed, complex flavors that only time can provide.

High-acid whites, such as Albariño, Sauvignon Blanc, and various rosés show their best when served ‘fridge fresh.’ Fruit-forward characteristics and thirst-quenching acidity will appear more pronounced, saturating a salivating palate as deliciously as possible. Serve white dessert wines equally fresh, too!

Oak influenced whites and lower acid varieties (think Marsanne, Roussanne, Viognier, and Chardonnay) can be served slightly warmer than their high-acid counterparts, for the sake of preserving the deep, more pronounced aromatics of the wines. Lighter reds, such as Gamay and Trousseau come alive with a slight chill. Low tannins, fruit-forwardness, and a slight chill make these wines go from drinkable to near chuggable.

If there’s one mystery to break with wine serving temperatures, it’s that ‘reds should be served at room temperature.’ This whole saying came about before the days of central heating, when room temperature was actually closer to cellar temperature, making today’s average ‘room temperature’ way too hot for serving your precious bottles of rouge. When served too warm, tannins and alcohol become emphasized, making wines seem flabby, astringent, and all around harder to drink. Served on the higher end of cellar temperature assures that these wines (think Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah) show their best, emphasizing fruit-forwardness and balanced structure.

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Of course these temperatures are all ballpark estimates; serving your wines in the realm of these numbers will assure a pleasant, satisfying wine-drinking sesh. Cheers!