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What temperature should a wine be drunk at?
The temperature of a wine has a direct influence on its flavour. If the wine is too cool, it only reveals its flavours very cautiously; it appears closed, monotonous and rather bland. If the wine is too warm, the alcohol comes out more strongly and the wine appears coarse and rather clumsy. The right drinking temperature determines whether or not the wine can reveal its full finesse and variety of flavours.
The following table providesguidelines for the drinking temperature of different types of wine:
strong, full-bodied red wines |
16°C to 18°C |
light, low-tannin red wines |
14°C to 16°C |
high-quality, complex white wines; rosé wines; orange wines |
12°C to 14°C |
full, aromatic white wines; complex sparkling wines; sweet wines |
10°C to 12°C |
light, fresh white wines; uncomplicated sparkling wines; semi-sparkling wines |
8°C to 10°C |
As already mentioned, these are only guidelines. In case of doubt, personal taste is the deciding factor - some people may like their red wine cooler, others may prefer their white wine a little warmer.
The advice that red wine should be drunk "at room temperature" - as is often heard and read - comes from a time when people lived in rooms with an average temperature of around 18 degrees. Today, however, the room temperature is usually 20 to 22 degrees - which is clearly too warm for any wine, including red wine! It therefore does no harm to cool red wine slightly before drinking it.
Remember: wine always warms up on its own. The wine warms up by one to two degrees as soon as it is poured into the glass.
Wine thermometer
There are various wine thermometers to determine the exact temperature of the wine:
- The classic version is inserted into the top of the open, still full bottle; the glass bulb dips into the wine and measures the temperature.
- Cuffs, which are placed around the neck of the bottle and measure the temperature, are easier to use. Although this method is less accurate without direct contact with the wine itself, it is also less complicated and, unlike the classic thermometer, it also works with unopened or no longer full bottles.
Tempering wine
If there is sufficient time before enjoying the bottle, place it in the fridge or in a cool cellar a few hours - or even a day - in advance so that it can slowly adjust its temperature. In a Wine climate cabinet every wine is automatically at the right drinking temperature as it is stored at this temperature.
If a white or sparkling wine needs to be cooled in a short time, there are several methods:
- The most mundane is to place the bottle in the freezer or chest freezer for half an hour or three quarters of an hour.
- It is much nicer and also more effective to place the bottle in a bucket of ice and water; the first glass can be poured after just 15 to 20 minutes.
- To speed up the cooling process, you can fill the bucket halfway with ice and halfway with cold water and add salt. The salt then thaws the ice more quickly and the ice releases its coldness into the water and the bottle. This process is called frapping.
- It is even quicker with a cooling sleeve (e.g. "Rapid Ice"), which is stored in the freezer. The sleeve is placed completely around the bottle (at least around its belly) and releases the stored cold very quickly to the wine; the cooling effect occurs after just ten minutes. At around ten euros, this is a relatively inexpensive purchase and a great help in an emergency.
A red wine that you want to warm up relatively quickly from cellar temperature to drinking temperature can be placed in the bottle or in a carafe in lukewarm water; this process is called chambrelling.