Wine Serving Tips
Properly Chilled Wines Always Taste Better
SERVING RED WINE: Red wine is best served at a proper room temperature
which will enhance not mask its qualities. If your room temperature is
higher than 20ºC (68ºF), put it in the refrigerator for about 20 to 25
minutes, than serve. If you have a party and your refrigerator is full,
cool your red wine in the ice/water bath for about 30 minutes and you
will have great serving wine.SERVING WHITE WINE: Most refreshing whites can be served chilled, just don't over chill them. If you refrigerate your white wines, take them out of refrigerator about 15 to 20 minutes before serving and let them stand out at room temperature. Your white wine will warm up in the room, in the glass, and in the hands, and it will be great for drinking. Rich, full-bodied and barrel-fermented white wines of high quality (like Chardonnay) taste their best at classic “cellar temperature,” which is around 13ºC (55ºF). So put these into the refrigerator an hour and half before use, but bring them out 20 minutes before serving to warm a bit.
CHAMPAGNE & SPARKLING WINES: Champagne and other sparkling wines should be totally chilled. Put them in the refrigerator two hours before serving or in an ice bucket with an ice-water mixture at least 30 minutes before serving. For high quality sparkling wines or vintage-dated Champagne, you should let the bottle then warm up a bit, so you don't miss out on the mature character for which you did pay extra.
SWEET DESSERT WINES: Sweet dessert wines taste their best at classic “cellar temperature,” which is around 13ºC (55ºF). So if they are not from your cellar, put these into the refrigerator an hour and half before use, but bring them out 20 minutes before serving to warm a bit.
