Which temperature for which wine

The temperature of the wine is something more important than you may presume

there is something that connects Wine, and temperature. The colder a wine is, the more its acidity is felt, conversely, the warmer it is than the alcohol will be discerned. A very cold temperature, if it gives a fresh sensation will also soften all the aroma and for red wine, tannins will be harder and they will give an extreme astringency. An extreme cold could also break down molecules liable for the taste. A hot temperature, will soften the tannins of red wines and bring out aromas, but you will discern mostly alcohol and it will start covering the taste and aromas. So, do we need only cold white and red wines? It is a little more tricky than that. Each type of wine has its ideal degustation temperature.

One general rule, the more complex is the wine the more it deserves a little warmer temperature.

White Wine

  • Sparkling wine (Proceseco, Crémant, basic champagne) 6 – 8 °C
  • Grand champagne (and some good Crémant and Processo DOCG) 9 – 12 °C
  • Dry white wine and rosé. 8 – 12 °C
  • Aged dry wine and some rosé (old or barel aged) 12 – 13 °C

Desert Wine

  • classical one 8 – 10 °C
  • Grand vins 11 - 13 °C

Red Wine

  • Light red wine (Loire, Beaujolais, primeur) 13 - 15 °C
  • Grand vins (Bourgogne, Loire) 14 - 17 °C
  • Full-body red wine (Bordeaux) 15 - 18 °C

Orange Wine

And about orange wine. In orange wines, the grape juice is macerated with the skin and seeds. It contains a lot more tannins than traditional white wines. It should be served between 11 – 14 °C

How to have the perfect temperature for the wine? If you don’t have a wine cellar, it can be tricky. Your fridge will cool down your wine to 4 to 6 and you will need to wait for the perfect temperature. You can get a wine thermometer, it tests the temperature of the bottle before you open it. you can take the bottle out of the fridge and wait for the ideal temperature.

But how to cool down wine? In the heat of the summer, it would be tempting to refresh your glass of wine with some ice cubes. The temperature will cool down immediately and you will enjoy the fresh taste of the wine. Don’t do that! There are two reasons for that. The first one, The ice cubes temperate, near 0°C, in the wine could break some of the components responsible for the aroma. It’s especially true for older wines (a little less for the young ones) as they are far more fragile. The second reason, ice cubes are made of water, and ice cubes will melt, so it is the equivalent of putting water in your glass, not a great thing. Will you put water in a beer?

So, what can be done to cool down your wine? If the wine is still in the bottle, the best way is to use the first law of thermodynamics. No fears, you will not have to calculate anything, you only need a fridge, a tea towel, and some water. In the first step, wet the cloth and then wrap it around the bottle. In the second step put everything in a fridge. Typically, depending on the fridge, the wine should be cool enough between 8 and 15 minutes. For the most impatient, you can turn one or two ice cubes in the glass for 2 to 4 minutes and serve the wine.

now you more about temperature and wine, if you are not sure, the ideal temperature is often written on the second label of the bottle. It’s just an optimum, you can choose what you like. But you know.