What is the Best Temperature to Serve White Wine & Red Wine?

I get asked a lot about the serving temperature of wines. First of all, let me just say that the temperature you drink your wine at should be whatever temperature you enjoy it at. Some people like their wine really, really, really cold. And some people like their wine room temperature or even a tiny bit warm. That’s okay! You are the one who is drinking it and that makes you the expert on what temperature it should be.

That being said… When it comes to serving your white wines. If you serve them too cold it will really suppress the flavors. When you taste the wine it will be refreshing, you’ll taste the acidity and it will be nice and cool, but all those flavors will be really closed down. So, I always recommend serving your white wines not too cold. I prefer to serve white wines closer to 50 degrees.

There is a good rule of thumb that says when you are serving your wines: Take your white wines out of the refrigerator half an hour before dinner and put your red wines in. There is a reason for that. When it comes to red wine, a lot of people like to just drink them at room temperature. However, if a wine is too warm a lot of those aromas start to volatilize, especially the alcohol. Alcohol evaporates at a lower temperature than water. If you have ever smelled a wine and it really burns your nose try serving it a little bit more chilled. Just a slight chill to it will actually suppress those alcohol fumes and really allow you just to taste the bouquet of the fruit in the glass. 

Learn Wine featuring Master Sommelier Emily Wines