By Manos Angelakis

Whenever you see a story about serving red wine, and many times on the back label of the bottle itself, you will see the advice “serve at room temperature”.

But. what does that mean though?

Americans have been accused of serving red wines too warm. That’s based on serving red wine at an average room temperature of 73°F to 77°F; the temperature most modern well heated and hermetically sealed US houses are kept. The advice “room temperature” actually refers to the average room temperature of an old, drafty, French château at 55°F to 64°F; or the cellar temperature of an old, damp, English house, also around 56°F to 62°F, with 65 to 75% humidity.

Does that mean that you have to throw a big, red wine into a refrigerator? Not really, though you could refrigerate a big red, then remove it, uncork it, and decant it about 2 hours before serving, letting it rise to the right temperature, between 62°F and 67°F, before the first glass is poured. Please do not, I repeat NOT, plop ice cubes in the glass (I guess you can do it, if you don’t care that the wine will be diluted as the ice melts). Keeping a red at the right temperature enhances the aromatics and tames the tannins.

Most times, the white wines are also not served at the right temperature either, but this time they are usually served at a temperature that is just too low. Most refrigerate white wines at home, but most refrigerators are kept in the 36°F to 39°F range, while the wines should be served between 40°F to 45°F, and rich, full-bodied whites can even be served at 50°F to 52°F. White wines served too cold lose the aromatics and the flavor is also affected because the tongue gets too numb from the cold to differentiate the tastes. Of course, a restaurant will put your white wine in a champagne bucket full of ice cubes, or in rare occasions will offer you a pre-chilled cooling sleeve. You can raise the wine’s temperature by simply cupping the glass in the palms of your hands.

Any good wine, white, rosé or red, served at the right temperature will taste its best.

To your health!

© October 2009 The Oenophile Blog. All rights reserved.