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Ideal Serving Temperature for Wine

Written by Madeline Puckette

Does wine serving temperature matter? Imagine it this way: does lemonade taste better at room temperature or ice-cold? Here are some best practices on wine serving temperature based on style of wine.

There are a range of proper serving temperatures for wine

Serve red wines slightly cooler than room temperature, between 62–68 degrees F (15–20 °C).

Generally speaking, serve white wines slightly warmer than fridge temperature, between 49-55 degrees F (7–12 °C).


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The perfect “rule of thumb” wine temperatures!
  • Sparkling and Light-Bodied White Wines: “Ice Cold” between 38–45°F / 3-7°C
  • Rosé and Full-Bodied White Wines: “Fridge Cold” between 44–55°F / 7-12°C
  • Light and Medium-Bodied Red Wines: “Cool” between 55–60°F / 12-15°C
  • Bold Red Wines: “Slightly Cool” between 60–68°F / 15-20°C
  • Dessert Wines: Depends on style.

Serving Temperature Tips

If the wine burns your nose with the smell of alcohol, it might be too warm. Try cooling it down.

If the wine doesn’t have any flavor, try warming it up. (Common if you store your reds in the fridge)

Generally speaking, wine aficionados don’t like white wines to be too cold or reds to be too hot.

Just so you know, make sure to store your wines at “cellar temperatures” it allows them to last a lot longer!

Lower quality wines do well served cooler, it mutes potential flaws in the aromas. The cooler a wine, the less aroma volatilize in your glass.

Sparkling wines taste great ice-cold, but it’s important to allow higher-quality examples (i.e. vintage Champagne) to warm up a bit to let out their aromas.

Experiment on Your Own

Wine serving temperature greatly affects what flavors and aromas of the wine you’ll smell. Personal preference also matters. If you like drinking everything ice cold, go for it, but check out what you might be missing at warmer temps first.

Learn about all the other nifty tips to serve wine like a pro by checking out our 7 Basics to Serving Wine.

Written byMadeline Puckette

James Beard Award-winning author and Wine Communicator of the Year. I co-founded Wine Folly to help people learn about wine. @WineFolly


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