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More wine is ruined by being too warm than too cold. A wine that is
served too cold is easily warmed, but a wine served too warm can be
difficult to chill. Therefore, when in doubt, serve it colder than you
might think necessary. A wine that is too warm tastes alcoholic and is
not a pleasure to drink.
In general, white wines are served
cooler than red wines.
These
serving temperatures should be used as guidelines. 65°F / 18°C
would be the equivalent of leaving the wine out at room temperature
for about 4 hours. 39°F / 4°C can be achieved by leaving the bottle
in the refrigerator for about 4 hours.
65°F
/ 18°C
Australian Shiraz,
California Cabernet Sauvignon, Rhône Wines, Vintage Port |
63°
/ 17°C
Bordeaux, Châeauneuf-du-Pape,
Ribera delDuero, South African Pinotage and Catalonian, Chilean,
and Australian Cabernet |
61°F
/ 16°C
Red Côte d'Or
Burgandy, southern French Reds, southern Italian reds, Rioja,
Toro, Australian and California Pinot Noir, Tawny and Ruby Ports |
50°F
/ 15°C
Côte Chalonnaise,
Douro red table wines, young Zinfandel, Oregon Pinot Noir, New
Zealand Cabernet and Pinot Noir, Oloroso and Cream sherries,
Bual and malmsey Maderias |
57°F
/ 14°C
Chinon, Bourgueil,
northern Italian and Washington State Cabernet Sauvignon,
Valpolicella, young Chianti |
54°
– 55°F / 12 – 13°C
Young Beaujolais,
red Sancerre, Bardolino, Lago di Caldaro, young Sanish and
Portuguese reds, vin de pays |
50°F
/ 10°C
California and
Australian Chardonnay, Sauternes, top white Côte d'Or Burgundy,
sweet German Wines, Rhine and Mosel Kabinett and Spätlese,
Tokay, Australian liqueur Muscat, Italian oaked Chardonnay,
oaked white Rioja, Fino and Amontillado Sherries, sercial
Maderia, white Port |
48°F
/ 9°C
Good white
Pessac-Léognan and Graves, north-eastern Italian whites,
Washington State Chardonnay, Chilean Chardonnay, Australian
Semillon, New Zealand Chardonnay |
46°F
/ 8°C
Alsace, Chablis, Côte
Chalonnaise and mâconnais whites, dry German wines, Franken
wines, Austrian Riesling, English wines, Australian Reisling,
Cabernet and grenache rosé |
45°F
/ 7°C
Good Champagne and
Sparkling wine, Sancere, new York State, Chilean and New Zealand
Sauvignon Blanc |
43°F
/ 6°C
White Bordeaux,
Muscadet, Anjou, other Sauvignons, Asti, unoaked white Roja |
41°F
/ 5°C
Qba German wines,
Soave, young Spanish and Portuguese whites, Vinho Verde, Swiss
Chasselas, Austrian Grüner Veltliner, cheap rosé |
36°
– 39°F / 2 – 4°C
Cheap sparkling
wines |
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