The Best Serving Temperatures for Wines

5 of 9 in Series: The Essentials of Serving and Storing Wine

Serving wine at the ideal temperature is a vital factor in your enjoyment of wine. If you try tasting the same wine at different temperatures, you may find that you love it at one temperature and dislike it at another!

Following are some tips to keep in mind regarding wine temperatures:

Most red wines are best at 62° to 65°F (16° to 18°C). Red wine served at warmer temperatures can taste flat, lifeless, and often too hot — you get a burning sensation from the alcohol.

Ten or fifteen minutes in the fridge will do wonders to revive red wines that have been suffering from heat prostration. But don’t let the wine get too cold. Red wines served too cold taste overly tannic and acidic.
Light, fruity red wines, such as the most simple Beaujolais wines, are most delightful when served slightly chilled at about 58° to 60°F (14° to 15.5°C).
Just as many red wines are served too warm, most white wines are served too cold. The higher the quality of a white wine, the less cold it should be, so that you can properly appreciate its flavor.

The following table indicates recommended serving temperatures for various types of wines.

Serving Temperatures for Wines
Type of wine	Temperature °F	Temperature °C
Most Champagnes and sparkling wines	45°F	7°C
Older or expensive, complex Champagnes	52°-54°F	11°-12°C
Inexpensive sweet wines	50°-55°F	10°-12.8°C
Rosés and blush wines	50°-55°F	10°-12.8°C
Simpler, inexpensive, quaffing-type white wines	50°-55°F	10°-12.8°C
Dry Sherry, such as fino or manzanilla	55°-56°F	12°-13°C
Fine, dry white wines	58°-62°F	14°-16.5°C
Finer dessert wines, such as a good Sauternes	58°-62°F	14°-16.5°C
Light, fruity red wines	58°-60°F	14°-15.5°C
Most red wines	62°-65°F	16°-18°C
Sherry other than dry fino or manzanilla	62°-65°F	16°-18°C
Port	62°-65°F	16°-18°C

How do you know when your bottle is 58° to 60°F? You can buy a nifty digital thermometer that wraps around the outside of the bottle and gives you a color-coded reading. Or you can buy something that looks like a real thermometer that you place into the opened bottle. Of course, you can also just feel the bottle with your hand and take a guess. Practice makes perfect.