does anybody know the best temperature for wine?

Answer 1

Serving Temperatures

The basic rule of thumb for any wine drinker to know is that your Red Wine is served at room temperature and your White Wine is served chilled. As long as you have that down, you will not have your bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon in the refrigerator, chilling, and waiting for your dinner guests to arrive. Many experts can break it down from degree to degree; at what temp each varietal should be drunk at, starting at 65° and working their way down to 36°. Maybe they carry around a thermometer with the rest of their wine equipment, hey, that might be a cool look. The thermometer might actually have a place reserved in their plastic pocket protector, next to the protractor. We can be a little more relaxed around here.

Red Wine
65° is a good temp for you to drink most of your Red Wines at. That is a bit below the average room temp, you know how warm your house or apartment is. The 65° room temperature mark, is ideal for the bigger, bolder, red wines like California Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Bordeaux, Aussie Cabernet Sauvignon & Shiraz, Red Rhone wines, California Red Zinfandel & Merlot, Barolo, Chianti Classico, Rioja, South American Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot. Lighter bodied reds such as Pinot Noir from North America & Australia, Burgundy, Valpolicella, and Beaujolais-Villages, can be served at 60°. Just put that bottle in the fridge for about 45 minutes and it's ready to go. If you over chill it, the wine will warm up again. If you feel you don't need to go that extra mile for your wine, then you decide whether or not room temp will work with all your reds. Remember your drinking it, so you're the boss.

White Wine
The average temp of a refrigerator is 38°, so if you serve your Chardonnay right out of the fridge, chances are it is a bit too chilly. That chill will hold in many of the flavors that a White Wine has to offer. 50° is an ideal temp to serve your fuller bodied White Wines at. I leave mine out of the fridge for about 45 minutes at room temp before serving. Again you can be the judge of your own preference in serving temp. You may enjoy your Chardonnay very cold and refreshing right out of the fridge, and then let it warm up a bit as dinner progresses. 50° covers wines such as North American Chardonnay & Pinot Gris, sweeter German Whites, Sauternes, Aussie & Chilean Chardonnay, New Zealand Chardonnay, Chablis, and Northern Italian Whites. Going down in temp to 45° is nice for Sancerre, North American Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc & Riesling, Alsace, dry German Whites, Aussie & New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, and White Bordeaux.

Champagne & Sparkling Wine
Last but not least there is Champagne and Sparkling Wine. Right out of the fridge for these bottles is fine, and back into an ice bucket while you drink your fill. The still white wines do not need to be placed in ice while you dine. The option is to leave it out on the table, or put it in a marble wine chiller that just keeps the bottle cool, instead of ice cold. The ice bucket is made for the Sparkling Wines.

Exception to the Rules
Young Beaujolais and Beaujolais Nouveau are very, very light Red Wines that are generally intensely fruity and often times served at about 50°. An example of a Red Wine that is served cold, and for me the only one. White Zinfandel. You can put as many ice cubes in it as you want. You can not harm this wine. Of course I have left out quite a few wines out of the temperature breakdowns, but you get the picture. If you have any questions about a specific wine e-mail me at [e-mail]. Drink up.

Answer 2

Temperature is the most important factor and the factor that should be sought after above all others. The optimum temperature is 50 to 55°F (10-12°C). However, any constant temperature within 40-65°F (5-18°C) will do. More important than the actual temperature you will be able to achieve, is the degree and rapidity of fluctuation the wine is subjected to. A slow change of temperature of ten or so degrees between winter and summer is not a big problem. But this kind of fluctuation on a daily or weekly basis will cause damage to your wines and age them prematurely. You will notice damage of this nature from the sticky deposit that often forms around the capsule. In time, as the wine expands and contracts, it will damage the integrity of the cork. When this happens minute quantities of wine may make its way alongside the cork possibly even allowing oxygen to seep back in.
Wines kept at too high a temperature will age faster than wines kept at a cold temperature. Theoretically, wines kept at 68°F will age twice as fast as those kept at 50°F. At 55°F (12°C) wines will age so slowly – with ultimately greater complexity – that you will never have to worry about them. This is not to say the colder the better. Wine that is stored too cold can develop deposits or other suspensions in the wine. Finally, keep in mind that white wines are affected far more by temperature problems than red wines.

Answer 3

for storage, White Wines should be stored between 45 and 50 degrees F. Red Wines should be stored between 60 and 65 F. When you drink wine you want white to be nice and cold of course. However, you may want to let the bottle of red rest for a day or so outside of storage since most people do not drink red wine anything under room temperature. Technically it should be somewhat cold, but what you prefer is the best answer i can give you. Drink what you like, and drink it either hot or cold to your preference.

Answer 4

Just to clarify a few of the other answers - wine should not be stored nor consumed at room temperature. Reds should be stored at 'cellar temperature', which is cooler than 'room temperature'. They should also be served at that temperature, but a few minutes in the fridge can drop them down to the appropriate range - just don't store them there.

White should be served chilled, but not cold.

Several people listed the ranges of the specific wines, so I won't repeat them. : )

Answer 5

This is an other thing used to confuse people and put them off wines.

Whites wines taste best chilled.

Red wines taste best when they are slightly cool to the mouth. The oft-quoted 'room temperature' refers to a London Victorian room -- and just remember the layers of clothes people used to wear indoors in those days.

You can read temperature charts and buy wine thermometers, but it is all nonsense. Just use common sense - and err on the side of too cool as its easy to warm up wine once its in theglass just by cupping it in your hand.

For storing wine, cool, dark and still are the ideal conditions.

Answer 6

White wine and rose should be served chilled from the fridge. Red wine is usually at it's best served at room temperature.

Answer 7

room temperature is a deceptive term....
It doesn't make a difference what temperature a room is, it's always room temperature.
Steven Wright

Answer 8

18 °C elegant red wines (Bordeaux)

16 °C heavy red wines (Burgundy, Côtes-du-Rhône)

12 °C light red wines (Beaujolais ordinary table wines)

10 °C dry white wines

8 °C Rosé wines

6 °C liqueur-type wines, champagnes, sweet white wines

Answer 9

Store it at room temperature.......unopened
After opening.............Put in fridge.............
If freshly opened chill on ice................
serve it chilled at least .................

Answer 10

storage or consumption?