Wine Etiquette That Will Make You Look Good
You may be used to having a sommelier or wine server watch the booze for you but this time, it is upon you to do the serving. Here are some of the basics you need to keep in mind:
- Ladies go first. The rule that the ladies are served first is expected. Start with the old folks and move on to the others. Pour wine for the ladies at the table in clockwise direction until everyone gets some.
- A rule about the last pour. As you keep pouring yourselves more wine and enjoying the conversations, the last pour finally comes around. In this scenario, you are never sure whether to just pour yourself the last drops of the wine or let someone else have it. You can handle this by asking whether anyone wants to share the wine with you. Your guests will encourage you to have the wine yourself, but it is always polite and selfless to ask.
- Ask when you want to re-pour yourself. Find out if the people seated next to you on both sides would like a refill for their glasses before filling up your own glass. Only serve the neighbors across the table if they ask for a refill.
Refrigerated Bottles Will Save Longer
If you dont plan on drinking the entire bottle in one night, make sure youve refrigerated it before you open it for the first time. Cooling your wine will reduce the speed of chemical reactions and slow the rate of oxidation. Likewise, sticking your opened bottle back in the fridge will preserve it much longer than leaving it out on the counter. If you do plan on saving your wine for a day or two, ensure you have a quality wine stopper ideally one with a vacuum mechanism, which will prevent further oxidation.
Is Your Red Wine Temperature Too Warm
Equally, a red wine can become soupyif its served too warm.
Alcohol levels may then feel out-of-balance and the wines natural structure and freshness can be lost.
Wine is a question of personal taste, but these are generally considered undesirable qualities.
Many of us have probably experienced a soupy red wine at one time or another, whether on holiday in a warm climate or in a restaurant that hasnt got its wine cellar under control. Dont be afraid to ask for the ice bucket for a few minutes.
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What Temperature Should A Wine Fridge Be
Wine requires unique refrigeration storage methods to retain its delicious flavor and aroma. Its best to follow the optimal temperature for each bottle so you can serve it perfectly every time.
Perhaps youre asking yourself, at what temperature should a wine fridge be? Read on to know more about the various temps for different wine varietals.
Ideal Temperature Range For Red Wine Storage
The ideal temperature range for storing red wine is between 45°F and 65°F with the sweet spot of 55°F .
- For long-term storage , you’ll want to pay strict attention to maintaining that ideal temperature of 55°F.
- For shorter-term storage , it is safe for the temperature to swing closer to the upper or lower ends of the safe spectrum as long as they don’t wildly fluctuate between the two.
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What Temperature Should Red Wine Be Stored At
In this article, were going to be discussing what the ideal temperature is to store red wine.
Now, were fully aware that this topic can be a little subjective, because every wine enthusiast/wine collector has different opinions on this, and this may be based on their own research, level of experience, or even what theyve heard from fellow wine lovers.
Nonetheless, weve done our best to find the officially cited temperature, and weve linked to the source so that you can verify that weve done our research property.
Therefore, without further ado, lets get into it!
How To Store Red Wine
There are two types of wines: white and red wine. White wine is the lighter and sweet wine and red wine is the darker and richer wine. If you want to store your white wine in an airtight container, then you need to store it at the temperature of 45°F to 55°F. While storing your red wine, you need to store it in a cool area which has no direct sunlight.
The ideal temperature for storing wine is between 45°F to 55°F. But if you want to store your wine for a long time, then you need to store it at a lower temperature like 45°F to 55°F. If you store wine at a higher temperature, then it will become sour and have a bad taste.
An airtight container is the best way to store red wine. Keep in mind that oxygen is a very good oxidizer. This means that oxygen will destroy the wine.
You dont need to worry about storing red wine for too long. Its better to keep it for a few months than a few years.
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Wine Fridges Vs Kitchen Fridges
Wine fridges dont get as cold as kitchen fridges, but they do get cold enough to preserve red wine and prevent it from being damaged by heat. Other than oxidation, heat is the one factor that can seriously damage the flavor of a wine.
An advantage of wine coolers not getting as cold as regular fridges are that they prevent the bottles from freezing, which can potentially cause the wine bottles to crack. Wine fridges are usually smaller than a traditional fridge as well, which makes it easier to fit them into auxiliary rooms such as game rooms, garages, and bars.
Even if you only keep half a dozen or so wines on hand at a time, its worth keeping them in a wine fridge to extend their lives as long as possible.
Getting Serious About Collecting Wine
Wine sometimes gets to otherwise sane people. They are smitten with the desire to exchange large sums of money for a collection of bottles that will mature over their lifetime. They scramble for smart or rare wines offered en primeur, as futures, paying for it long before its delivered. They may also fill gaps in their collections by buying older wines at auction, notably from Christies or Sothebys. I find it inimical to buy wine solely as an investment. And in any case wine prices go down as well as up. But, like all forms of collecting, it can bring a great deal of pleasure . Reasonably good record-keeping such as that offered by online cellar management systems is needed to ensure that wines dont languish past their drink-by dates. And some wine collectors need to be reminded every so often that wine is for drinking!
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What Is The Ideal Temperature To Store And Serve Wine
Most people serve red wine at room temperature and white wine straight from the fridge.
But is that right?
I dont know about you, but this is all seems a bit vague. What does room temperature even mean? Should you ever put red wine in ice? Why does serving temperature even matter?
If you take a more scientific approach to wine temperatures, youll find theres a Goldilocks zone for every variety not too hot and not too cold.
Serving the wine at the right temperature will help you enjoy it more. After all, you wouldnt serve chilled chips or warm ice cream.
Wine scientists have discovered that the taste of wine is affected by a range of factors including music, food, temperature and even price.
Wine Coolers Are A Good Option To Use
Wine coolers come in all shapes and sizes. The standard cooler is often a bit noisy as it comes with a fan and condenser. You can opt for a thermoelectric cooler if you dont want the noise. However, the thermoelectric cooler is only good for short-term storage as it develops temperature fluctuations that make it unsuitable for long-term storage.
Thinking of getting a case of wine to store? Check out How Many Bottles in a Case of Wine? to see how you can mix and match your wines for that case.
Red wines are an important part of the dining process. Before you head out to the store for your best temperature choices, think about storage, and have steps in place for keeping the drinks in the best red wine serving temperatures possible until the point of service.
Thank you for reading! Let us know in the comments below how you prefer to store your Red wines at home. Also, be sure to check out How to Hold a Wine Glass?, How to Cork Wine Correctly, or How to Make Wine Taste Better for more tips on how to treat your wines at home.
This red wine serving temperatures article is sponsored by our friends at Amazon Prime! Amazon is offering our Wine on My Time community an exclusive offer of a FREE 30-day trial of their famous Amazon Prime Membership. and enjoy that free 2-day shipping!
Wine on My Time is a resource blog for wine lovers all across the world! We take pride in delivering the best quality wine material for our readers. Check us out on and for daily wine content!
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Dual Zone Wine Fridge Temperature Settings
A dual zone wine fridge has two compartments with different temperature settings, so you can store both red and white wines at their optimal temperatures. The upper compartment should generally be between 53.6-57.2°F for white and sparkling wines, while the lower compartment should be set to slightly warmer temperatures between 54-58°F for red wines.
How To Store Your Wine
No matter what type of wine you have, proper wine storage is the foundation for maintaining its quality. If your wine bottle goes bad before you even pop it open, it makes no difference what temperature you serve it at. From white to red to rosé and beyond, keep your wine bottles in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight. This will help preserve the shelf life and slow down the deterioration process.
While having a wine cellar would be ideal, its not exactly realistic for most people. Fortunately, you can make do with what you have. Consider putting a wine rack in a space thats removed from heat and light and cooler than room temperature.
Its especially important to store wine bottles with a natural cork seal on their sides. Doing so helps maintain the corks moisture so that it doesnt dry out and shrink, which lets in bacteria that could result in cork taint.
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And Now For Your White Wines
What about the perfect white wine storage temperature? Storage and serving temperatures arent always the same. Thats why, while reds and whites areservedat different temperatures, 55°F is the perfect wine temperature for storage for both types of wine.
Wine storage temperature isnt an exact science. So, regardless if youre storing reds orwhites, dont sweat it too much if youre a few degrees above or below 55°F. Consistency, however, is more important than you might think. Well get to that in a second.
Why Is Storage Temperature Important Anyway
When it comes to storing your wine, the temperature matters for several reasons. Keeping your wine at the right temperature will ensure it lasts longer without going bad, prevents it from becoming too hot or too cold , and maintains the overall quality of the wine youre storing.
The optimum storage temperature differs for each kind of wine, ranging anywhere from a refrigerated chill to just under room temperature. Even small changes to the temperature of your wine can have a knock-on effect in the future, so keeping it at a consistent and appropriate heat will make sure that your wine stays top quality.
There are a couple of consequences for storing your wine at the wrong temperature. Along with turning the wine bad over time, storing your wine at too low or too high a temperature brings risks like fostering bacteria, reducing the wines potency, and producing more bitter tannins.
If the wine is left to get too cold and freezes, it expands and creates a new set of issues freezing damages the wine itself, while the expanding liquid can cause the cork to be pushed out or break and even shatter the entire bottle.
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Wine Storage Temperature Chart
So there you have it the best temperatures to store each type of wine. Its a lot to take in at once, so dont worry. To help make it easier to manage, heres a handy table with the appropriate storage temperatures for every variety of wine !
where should i store my wine?
Wine is best stored in a cool, dark, and humid area theres a reason why it is traditionally kept in a cellar! Most people dont have a wine cellar to spare, however, so youll need to find a suitable environment elsewhere. For wines with a higher storage temperature , you can get away with a kitchen cupboard, as these will stay cool and dark.
White wines, sweet wines, and sparkling wines need to be chilled more and are a bit harder to deal with as a result. A refrigerator will work fine for short-term storage, but ideally no more than a few days.
Some good alternatives to a wine cellar include under-stairs cupboards, a garage, or any other temperature-controlled storage you have. If youre keeping your wine in the garage, there are a couple of things you should bear in mind vibrations and strong smells can both negatively affect your wine, so keep the bottles well-insulated to protect your wine.
Wine fridges are also an option if youre willing to splash out, with separate storage for different wines and a temperature-controlled fridge section.
does chilled wine last longer?
can you store different types of wine at the same temperature?
final thoughts
Do You Really Need A Wine Fridge
Before deciding whether you should have a wine fridge, think about your wine consumption habits. In addition, consider if you are a wine collector, too. For example, do you see yourself buying wine for years? How many wine bottles do you buy every year? And do you really want to put that extra effort into keeping your wine at the best possible serving temperature? Do consider if you have space for a wine fridge , as well, or if you could store your wine somewhere else, such as in a cool cellar.
If your main objective is to store wine to maintain correct wine temperatures, obtaining a wine fridge with separate temperature zones may not be worth the investment. Besides, a wine fridge is an expensive appliance since it is new technology. So, if you are not sure you are going to take 100% advantage of it, you are better off without one.
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Avoid Wine Temperature Fluctuations
Temperature Fluctuations can dramatically affect your wine. If temperature consistently fluctuates up or down even a few degrees, your wines will be compromised and may age prematurely.
Why, Because once the temperature in a wine bottle rises, the wine inside will expand more than the glass, causing pressure in the bottle. which in time pushes the cork out, allowing oxygen to come in contact with the wine
Too Much Oxygen Leads to Oxidation: once oxygen gets into the bottle, whether through a faulty closure or cork damage, The wines flavors and aromas will flatten and spoilt.
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Serve Different Red Wines At Different Temperatures
Light Fruity Reds
Examples of light fruity reds would be Pinot Noir, Beaujolais or Gamay. It came as a surprise to me but these lighter reds should be served slightly chilled. This is not fridge cold but is more of a cellar temperature, 12-13°C . Chilling red wine amplifies any oak and tannin present.
Medium-Bodied Reds
Medium-bodied reds might be some Pinot Noirs, Tempranillo, some Riojas. Use your judgement here. The recommended temperature is 14-16°C . Again, straight from the cellar temperature will probably work but if you have invested in a wine fridge then you have an opportunity to be even more precise.
Full-Bodied Reds
Some of my favourite wines are full-bodied reds, like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. Serve these reds at room temperature, between 16-20°C . Wines that are served too cold can be lacking in aroma. Open the bottle, pour a glass and cup the glass in your hands to warm. A very simple method but is works.
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Is 50 Degrees Too Cold To Store Wine
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Experts recommend a temperature range of 45 F to 65 F for wine, with 55 F frequently cited as the ideal temperature range. Many more casual wine drinkers, especially those who enjoy white wine, store their bottles in their refrigerator along with produce and other perishables.
Wine storage temperatures are significantly different than wine serving temperatures, according to wine professionals. A red wine storage temperature of 55F is recommended for the best results. The serving temperature of red and white wines will be different. Some wines require 53 or 54 degrees of room temperature, while others require 56 or 57 degrees. There are two fundamental rules for keeping wine warm in the refrigerator. The first rule of thumb is to keep it cool. It is best to keep it at a constant temperature.
Sparkling And Dessert Wines
Recommended Fridge Temperature: 40-45 degrees Fahrenheit
If youre celebrating with a bottle of bubbly, its best to chill them first. Carbonated drinks such as sparkling wines showcase their crispness and refreshing qualities when theyre cold. Youll get maximum enjoyment from Prosecco, Champagne, Cava, and Asti when theyre cold.
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