serving temperatures

I'm sort of committed to keeping this blog focused on just the tasting of wine. But the key is "sort of." I might occasionally post a few items that I've found helpful for tasting, or economic items about the wine industry, places to drink or buy wine, etc. Today I thought I'd add some temperature recommendations for serving wine that can really bring out the fullest potential of flavor and aroma in whatever wine you are drinking.

The temperature at which a wine is served has a definite impact on its taste. A bottle of wine will cool 2 °C (4 °F) for every ten minutes in the refrigerator, and will warm at about this same rate when removed from the refrigerator and left at room temperature — obviously, the temperature of the room will affect the speed with which the wine warms up. If you need to chill a bottle of wine in a hurry, 35 minutes in the freezer will usually do the trick. Here are some recommended serving temperatures which I grabbed some time ago from somewhere I unfortunately can’t remember. If I find the source, I’ll link to it later.

Specific Wine Types               °F , °C
Vintage Port                      66 , 19
Bordeaux, Shiraz, Syrah           64 , 18
Red Burgundy, Cabernet            63 , 17
Rioja, Pinot Noir                 61 , 16
Chianti, Zinfandel                59 , 15
Tawny/NV Port, Madeira            57 , 14
Beaujolais, Rose                  54 , 12
Viognier, Sauternes               52 , 11
Chardonnay                        48 , 9
Riesling                          47 , 8
Champagne                         45 , 7
Ice Wines                         43 , 6

General Wine Types               °F  ,  °C
Sparkling Wine                 42-54 , 6-10
Rosé Wine                      48-54 , 9-12
White Wine                     48-58 , 9-14
Sherry (Light)                 48-58 , 9-14
Sherry (Dark)                  57-68 , 13-20
Red Wine                       57-68 , 13-20
Fortified Wine                 57-68 , 13-20