At what temperature should you drink each type of wine?

I've always been curious about what is the appropriate temperature to serve each type of wine. We always hear that white wine should be chilled, but how cold should it be? I scoured the internet, and found a great summary at Damngoodwine.com. It's a good little site that I'd recommend you check out when you have some free time.

Greg Meserole wrote an article entitled "Serving Temperatures." I have pasted in the highlights of that article below. The information in this article should help improve your wine drinking experience!

Serving Temperatures

The basic rule of thumb for any wine drinker to know is that your Red Wine is served at room temperature and your White Wine is served chilled. Many experts can break it down from degree to degree; at what temp each varietal should be drunk at, starting at 65° and working their way down to 36°.

Red Wine
65° is a good temp for you to drink most of your Red Wines at. That is a bit below the average room temp. The 65° room temperature mark, is ideal for the bigger, bolder, red wines like California Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Bordeaux, Aussie Cabernet Sauvignon & Shiraz, Red Rhone wines, California Red Zinfandel & Merlot, Barolo, Chianti Classico, Rioja, South American Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot. Lighter bodied reds such as Pinot Noir from North America & Australia, Burgundy, Valpolicella, and Beaujolais-Villages, can be served at 60°. Just put that bottle in the fridge for about 45 minutes and it's ready to go.

White Wine
The average temp of a refrigerator is 38°, so if you serve your Chardonnay right out of the fridge, chances are it is a bit too chilly. That chill will hold in many of the flavors that a White Wine has to offer. 50° is an ideal temp to serve your fuller bodied White Wines at. I leave mine out of the fridge for about 45 minutes at room temp before serving. You may enjoy your Chardonnay very cold and refreshing right out of the fridge, and then let it warm up a bit as dinner progresses. 50° covers wines such as North American Chardonnay & Pinot Gris, sweeter German Whites, Sauternes, Aussie & Chilean Chardonnay, New Zealand Chardonnay, Chablis, and Northern Italian Whites. Going down in temp to 45° is nice for Sancerre, North American Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc & Riesling, Alsace, dry German Whites, Aussie & New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, and White Bordeaux.

Champagne & Sparkling Wine
Last but not least there is Champagne and Sparkling Wine. Right out of the fridge for these bottles is fine, and back into an ice bucket while you drink your fill. The ice bucket is made for Sparkling Wines [only].

Exception to the Rules
Young Beaujolais and Beaujolais Nouveau are very, very light Red Wines that are generally intensely fruity and often times served at about 50°. [For] White Zinfandel. You can put as many ice cubes in it as you want. You can not harm this wine.

Comments

[Lisa Pavageau]

Well done! I will say that sometimes having a white wine slightly more chilled will actually mask the flaws in the wine, which can be helpful.

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[Jason Henkel]

Perfect advice for the every day wine drinker. Thanks!