🍷 Serving temperature

Serving temperature is the temperature wine has when it is poured into the glass. It decides how much aroma and taste you get. There is no single number. The Bordeaux wine council (CIVB) gives 6 to 12 °C for whites. For a red it says 16 to 18 °C. The detail below shows how it splits by type.

For whites, CIVB's scale rises with age and weight. A young dry white goes at 6 to 8 °C. One over 5 years old goes at 8 to 10 °C. A great mature white of the Pessac-Léognan type goes at 11 to 12 °C. Bordeaux rosé is 8 to 10 °C. Clairet is 6 to 8 °C. Crémant de Bordeaux is 5 to 6 °C. The council's rule of thumb: the more structured or complex the wine, the warmer you serve it.

Reds sit higher. A second CIVB article says 16 to 18 °C, and Wine Australia's teaching guide says about 15 °C. The same Australian guide serves sparkling wine at 8 to 10 °C, while CIVB elsewhere takes crémant down to 8 °C. So read the figures as a range of a couple of degrees, not a verdict.

In practice, put the bottle in the fridge several hours ahead. A freezer at the last minute is a poor idea, and so are ice cubes in the glass, which dilute the wine. At the table a wine bucket helps hold the temperature. Remember that the glass warms the wine by about 2 °C within minutes, so pour a touch colder than you want. Do not pre-pour whites or sparkling wine. Wine is for adults.