Why your wine deserves the right temperature

Why your wine deserves the right temperature

A lot of us have got into the habit of drinking our wine in two ways – we drink our white wine, rose and champagne straight from the fridge, and our red wine at room temperature.

If you are guilty of this (don’t worry, a lot of us are!), then you might lose that full experience of your favorite wines.  You probably wouldn’t enjoy a warm beer, or a lukewarm cup of tea, and the same applies to wine.  And although the shape of the glass and letting wine breathe are crucial to a beautiful glass of wine, nothing is as important as temperature.  But it doesn’t need to be overcomplicated and intimidating, it’s actually pretty simple to make sure you are discovering the full bouquet your wines have to offer.

Is your wine too warm?

A wine served too warm will probably taste dull, heavy and one-dimensional.  You might find the taste of berries to be overemphasised and the taste of alcohol can be far too overpowering.  Whereas at lower than room temperature, you are greeted with the best version of the flavours and aromas that the wine is there to give.  Particularly some lighter styles of red wines, such as Pinor Noir, can be very refreshing and drinkable in the heat, and chilling them slightly means you get a pleasant hint of the fresh and subtle flavours.  Just a little bit of effort to consider this is really worth the reward, we can promise you!

Broadly speaking, red wine should be served between 12-20°C.  Light, fruity red wines, such as Tempranillo, should be served around the 14-16°C mark.  More full-bodied red wines, such as Shiraz, should be served between 15-20°C.

Is your wine too cold?

A wine served too cold can really suppress the flavours and aromas, leaving only the tartness or possibly a muted or even tasteless and watery feeling.  One way to ensure you remove all taste is by putting ice in your wine; we would really recommend against this.  Wine is pretty fragile and delicate, and overcooling it will spoil the unique flavours that are on offer.    

As a rough rule, white wines should be served between 7-15°C.  Light, dry white wines such as Chenin Blanc, roses, and sparkling wines are at their best between 7-10°C.  More full-bodied white wines, such as Chardonnay are best served between 10-15°C to bring out the richness and almost creamy texture.

This isn’t a perfect art, and everyone has different preferences and tastebuds, but we encourage you to experiment a bit with the temperature and consider how it is affecting the taste profile for you.  It might open up a whole new world of wine enjoyment for you, in which case our GRAD NO.1 might come in very very handy!