What Temperature Should Wine be Served?
(+ Wine Temperature Serving Chart)

It's been said that wine is a living and breathing thing, and it's a drink as delicate as it is versatile. Storing wine at its ideal temperature is paramount to keeping its quality and taste, and improper storage is one of the easiest ways to ruin your wine.

Aside from getting its storage temperature right, getting the serving temperature right is crucial too! Wine is stored so that we can later drink it, and with all of that effort to age it we want to make sure that the juice is truly worth the squeeze.

DOES WINE TEMPERATURE REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

Of course! While some other wine serving variables make more subtle differences, wine temperature is actually crucial.

Serving wine at the recommended temperature brings out its intended flavor profile, character, and bouquet by ensuring that the wine displays a balance of aroma, flavor, structure and alcohol. Serve wine too cold or too warm … and you’ll miss out.

Serving wine at the right temperature is crucial to bringing out its rich flavor and aroma, and creating the best experience you can from your collection.

What is the Ideal Wine Temperature?

The range of 45° F to 65° F provides the best temperature to serve wine, though the exact temperature depends on both wine type/varietal and your personal preferences. It is generally understood that red and wine be kept at different temperatures, and most people prefer to serve white wine chilled and red wine at room temperature or slightly below.

It’s mostly down to personal preference, but make sure that you don’t over-chill your wine too much and end up blocking out the flavors and aroma.

Here are the basics you should know about different wine temperatures:

White wine:

• If served too cold, the aroma and taste will be blocked
• If served too warm, you only taste the alcohol and bitterness in the wine
• Best served between 45 and 50 degrees F

Red wine:

• When served too cold, brings out the acidity in the wine
• When served too warm, the wine gets "hot" and loses it's body
• Best served between 55 and 65 degrees F

Wine Temperature Serving Chart

Different varietals are best served at different temperatures. Here is a comprehensive chart:

Storing your wine properly definitely plays a vital role in retaining its aroma and flavor. Therefore, having a wine cooler or a beverage center is the best way to go. Not sure where to start? Check out our wide selection of top-quality wine refrigerators.