Wine Tasting: Temperature Matters

If you are having a wine tasting party or you will be just having a nice dinner, you want your guests and yourself to be able to truly experience the full flavour of the wine that you have purchased.  There is no telling that wines are highly valuable and there is nothing worse than thinking you have the right wine to compliment your dinner only to find out that it does not taste correctly.  That often happens because the wine’s temperature is off. 

Although you may not realize it, wine should be kept at a specific temperature both when you store it as well as when you serve it.  The temperature of the wine when you serve it will bring out different flavours within that bottle of wine.  These may or may not be the flavours you want to bring out, though. 

For example, if you have a less than perfect bottle of wine, serve it at a cooler temperature as it will hide some of those imperfections.  This is a good thing to do for an inexpensive wine or even a wine that hasn’t aged fully yet.  If you want to really experience the characteristics of the wine, though, then you’ll want it slightly warmer.  This helps to really bring out the true traits that the wine has to offer.  This is a great thing to do for wines that are expensive and aged.

Remember this:  for every ten minutes of time spent in the refrigerator, the wine will lower in temperature by four degrees Fahrenheit.  Also, it will go through the same in warming, about every ten minutes.  If you have forgotten to take a wine out to cool, you may want to place it in the freezer for no more than half an hour.

What temperature should you serve them at?  That depends on the type of wine that you are serving, too.  For sparkling wine, go with a temperature that’s lower, about 42 to 54 degrees F.  For rose and white wines, as well as a light sherry, a good temperature is a bit higher at 48 to 58 degrees F.  The warmest wines to serve included those that are fortified, dark sherry and red wines.  Keep these served at 57 to 68 degrees.

Use these tricks for giving your guests a bottle or glass of wine and you will be well on your way to having a very perfect compliment to your dinner.  More!