During an evening with friends, you select one of your favorite bottles of red wine to impress your guests. To do it right, you even open it several hours in advance and decide to leave it at room temperature.
Convinced that you will impress, you then serve the delicious bottle at the table but, to your great dismay, it does not meet with unanimous approval. Too heady, heavier in the mouth than usual, you don't understand what could have changed since your last tasting...You have just discovered why serving a wine at the right temperature is essential!
The serving temperature greatly influences our perception of the structure of a wine (alcohol, tannins, acidity) and its aromas. .
So it is It is essential to know at what temperatures to serve your precious bottles. in order to to be able to appreciate them at their optimum.
Follow the guide and never make any more mistakes when serving!
The importance of serving wine at the right temperature
To begin, let's study the impacts that unsuitable serving temperatures can have on our tasting experience.
First of all, a serving temperature that is too low will tend to enhance the sensation of acidity in the mouth and will make the aroma detection more difficult . For a red wine, too much freshness will also do excessively bring out the tannins , making the tasting unpleasant.
Conversely, a serving temperature that is too high will tend to weigh down your wine and make it less digestible . This will naturally lose freshness and the perception of alcohol will then be heightened , sometimes to the point of masking a large part of the aromas present in the wine.
Serving temperature for red wines
There service temperature of red wines is far too often overlooked in comparison to white or rosé wines. Many people think that the simple fact of leaving a bottle of red at room temperature is sufficient.
We often talk about "chamber" the red wine (bring it to room temperature). However, this term dates back to a time when the average temperature in our living spaces was lower. Today, our houses and apartments are often heated to around 20-22°C (if not more for those who are sensitive to the cold). This is far too high for any wine!
Here are some tips to help you serve your red wines correctly.
- For very light red wines with few tannins , like the Beaujolais Nouveau, some Poulsards from Jura or even Gamays from Loire , The Illuminated Cellar advises you a service between 12-14°C in order to preserve all the freshness and fruitiness of these vintages.
- For light and fruity red wines but with slightly more structure ( Pinot noir fruity of Burgundy or of Sancerre , Cabernet Franc of Loire , Gamay of appellations like Morgon Or Windmill etc.), a service between 14-16°C is preferable in order to better reveal the aromas.
- For powerful, complex red wines with greater tannic potential , The ideal serving temperature will be 16-18°C . Enter in this category red wines from Bordeaux , of the Rhone Valley , of Languedoc or even of Provence . Grape varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon , there Syrah or even the Merlot are well suited to these serving temperatures, for example. Finally, the Premier Crus Or Great Burgundy Wines are also often used in this range.
The temperature of service for wines whites
The mistake often made for the white wines is to serve them at too cold a temperature, thus masking their aromas and potentially making them pass next to their complexity.
- For lively, light and fruit-driven white wines , a service between 8-10°C is recommended. This category includes, for example, wines from Chablis , some whites from Alsace like the Riesling , THE Sauvignons of Loire, the Chenins dried Loire or even Chardonnays simple and light.
- For white wines with more substance, roundness and presenting more complexity , it will then be preferable to carry out a service between 11-13°C . For example, generous and ample Chardonnays from Meursault , the structured white wines of Pessac-Leognan or even the delicious ones Viogniers of AOC Condrieu in the Rhone.
The temperature of service for sparkling wines
Associated with the joyful moments of life, sparkling wines must also be served at the right temperature in order to be ideally appreciated.
Indeed, if served too cold, the bubbles and aromas of these wines will be very discreet. On the contrary, a serving temperature that is too high will give the sensation of a coarse bubble in the mouth and will lose that pleasant sensation of freshness.
- For crémants or champagnes classics "BSA" (Brut Sans Année) , a service between 6-8°C is recommended. This will preserve all the lightness and freshness of the bubbles while being able to perfectly appreciate all the aromas.
- For sparkling wines and champagnes with more structure and complexity , a service between 8-10°C will then be preferable. This is often the case, for example, for vintage wines that are richer in aromas.
- Finally, for old, rare and vinous champagnes , we can carry out a service between 10-12°C .
The temperature of service for the rosés
Incarnations of summer and beautiful days, the rosés can also be served at different temperatures depending on their profiles.
- For fresh, fruity rosés and minerals like the vast majority of those of Coasts of Provence or Languedoc and Loire rosés, a temperature between 8-10°C will be perfect to express their character bright and sunny.
- For more vinous and full-bodied rosés like those of Bandol or the small one AOC Palette , we will then go up, in the same way as a structured white wine, to 11-13°C in order to better appreciate their complexity.
The temperature of service for the sweet wines
Finally, for the sweet wines , semi-dry or sweet, the sugar factor plays a key role. It is therefore important to serve them at the right temperature so that they are not perceived as too heavy, or even sickening, by our palate.
- For wines sweet, aromatic, simple and focused on fruit and pleasure , a service temperature between 8-10°C will be perfect for maintaining the balance between freshness and deliciousness. For example, it is the right temperature for serving a Muscat of Rivesaltes , A Gewurztraminer from Alsace or even a soft cake IGP Côtes de Gascogne .
- For more complex and intense sweet wines like the Sauternes , THE Coteaux-du-Layon or even certain sweet red wines like those of Maury and Banyuls, a temperature of 10-12°C will be preferable to allow a better understanding of all the aromas present.
Need advice?
Now you know the big ones axes in order to serve all your wines at the ideal temperature. So do not hesitate to invest in a wine cellar in order to control this aspect as best as possible: the refrigerator is indeed very practical but not ideal because of its lack of precision!
And if you still have any doubts or questions, do not hesitate to contact us. The Illuminated Cellar ! Health !
