Temperature
If you are, truly, interested in serving your wines when they are at their best, serving them at their optimal temperature is ideal. Most of you are aware that you serve whites chilled and reds at room temperature; this is true to a certain degree. Something that you may not know is the average refrigerator will cool a white too much and our room temperature, these days, is too hot for reds. Both ways, the wines are still very drinkable, but the aromas in the white will not be as forthcoming and the red may feel a little bit more hot (more alcoholic) on the finish.
Below is a chart that may surprise you… Remember an average refrigerator temperature is 35 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) and our average room temperature is 72 degrees Fahrenheit (23 degrees Celsius).
| Temperature | Wine |
| 36 | Cheap Sparkling Wine |
| 40-45 | Alsace, Asti, Chardonnay, Cheap Rose, Chenin Blanc, Riesling, Muller-Thurgau, Muscadet, North American Sauvignon Blanc, Sancerre, Unoaked White Rioja, White Bordeaux |
| 45-50 | Champagne & Sparkling Wines |
| 48–50 | Amontillado Sherry, Chablis, Pinot Grigio, White Zinfandel |
| 50 | Rose Wines, Young Beaujolais |
| 50-55 | Beaujolais Nouveau, Madeira, Gewurztraminer, Oaked White Rioja, Pinot Gris, Sauternes, Tokay, Young Zinfandel |
| 54-58 | Best White Burgundies, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Young Chianti, Young Red Burgundies |
| 58-60 | Valpolicella, Beaujolais Village |
| 58-64 | Pinot Noir, Port, Red Burgundy, Rioja |
| 60-65 | Barolo, Bordeaux, Cabernet, Chianti, Merlot, Old Red Burgundy, Pinotage, Rhone, Red Zinfandel, Vintage Port |
