The Right Serving Temperature: How Every Wine Tastes Its Best

Few things affect the taste of a wine as much as its temperature. A few degrees too warm or too cold, and even the finest bottle closes up. With the right knowledge, you get the best from every bottle.

Why Temperature Decides

Temperature governs which aromas we perceive. Served too cold, a wine seems closed, its fruit falls silent and the acidity stands out harshly. Too warm, and the alcohol pushes to the fore, the wine feels heavy and tired. The ideal temperature is a balance: cool enough for freshness, warm enough for aroma. The good news – the rules are easy to remember.

The Key Guidelines

As a rule of thumb: the lighter and fresher the wine, the cooler it is served. Sparkling wines and champagne are served at 6 to 8 degrees, light, fresh whites at 8 to 10 degrees, full-bodied and mature whites at 10 to 12 degrees. For reds: light reds at 14 to 16 degrees, powerful, tannic reds at 16 to 18 degrees. The oft-quoted room temperature, by the way, refers to the cool rooms of earlier times – not today's heated 22 degrees.

Three Wines, Three Temperatures

• Ciccilla Prosecco Extra Dry Treviso DOC – well chilled at 6 to 8 degrees, the Prosecco shows its fine bead and fresh fruit. Too warm, it loses its sparkle.
• Pinot Grigio Venezie DOC – at 8 to 10 degrees, the light white stays crisp and clear. A few degrees warmer, and its citrus freshness fades.
• Del Conte Barolo DOCG – the great red unfolds at 16 to 18 degrees. Thus fruit and elegance show themselves, without the alcohol standing out.

Practical Everyday Tips

Take whites out of the fridge about 20 minutes before serving – it is often only 5 degrees in there, too cold. Reds, by contrast, can spend a short while in the fridge in summer, since 22 degrees of room temperature is often too warm. A bucket of water and ice chills a sparkling wine in a few minutes. And a wine thermometer on the glass helps until you have the feel in your wrist.

Trust Your Palate

The guidelines are a compass, not a law. If you prefer a red slightly chilled in summer, that is perfectly right. Taste the same wine at different temperatures, and you will see how it changes. In the end, only one thing matters: that the wine tastes good to you.

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