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.
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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- 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.