At what temperature should wines be served?

The serving temperature is important to experience a wine's full potential. If the temperature is too cold the acidity and tannins become more accentuated and the aromatic component may be lost. If we taste a wine that is at too hot a temperature, the alcohol and sweetness tend to stand out.

Temperature has a great influence on the wine's characteristics. So, know at what temperature you should serve a wine so that it may show all its qualities. Note that, as in almost all matters related with wine, temperature is not always consensual so use these tips as a guide, do your experiments and then tell us how you prefer to serve each style.

Wines
Light and fresh whites: 8°C - 10°C
Velvety and fruity whites: 10ºC - 12ºC
Firm and complex white: 12°C - 14°C
Light Rosés: 7°C - 9°C
Full-bodied Rosés: 10ºC - 12ºC
Light and medium bodied reds: 14°C - 16°C
Full-bodied reds: 16°C - 18°C
Evolved reds: 18°C - 20°C

Sparkling Wines
Young, with stage under 1 year: 6°C - 8°C
Aged from 1 to 3 years: 8°C - 10°C
Aged from 3 to 6 years: 10°C- 12°C
Aged for more than 6 years: 12°C - 14°C

Dessert Wines
The temperature at which these wines should be served depends greatly on the style.

Fortified Wines:

Port Wines
Rosé Port: 6ºC
White Port: 10ºC - 12ºC
Tawny Port: 14ºC - 16ºC
Ruby Port: 16ºC - 18ºC

Madeira Wine
Younger Wines: 13°C - 14°C
Older Wines: 15°C - 16°C

Moscatel Wines
Younger Wines: 10°C - 12°C
Older wines (more than 5 years old): 14°C - 16°C

Jerez
Fino and Manzanilla: 5°C - 7°C
Pale Cream: 7°C - 9°C
Amontillado, Oloroso, Palo Cortado, Medium, Cream, Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel: 12°C - 14°C
V.O.S and V.O.R.S: 15°C

Late Harvest:
Sauternes: 7°C - 12°C
Tokaji Aszù: 7°C - 12°C
Ice Wine: 7°C - 12°C

Tips to cool wine faster
Who has never forgotten to chill a bottle of wine for a dinner party or a wine tasting with friends? Use one of these tricks to speed up the chilling if this happens.

Tip 1



Place the bottle in an ice bucket or deep container with 2/3 ice and 1/3 water and add two or three handfuls of rock salt. The salt lowers the freezing point of the water, which will help cool. To protect the label wrap, the bottle in cellophane paper. Don't forget to dip it up to the neck and wait about 15/20 minutes to check if your bottle is at the desired temperature.

Tip 2


Wrap the bottle in a wet cloth or damp kitchen paper and place it in the freezer. In 15/20 minutes, the bottle will cool down very quickly.

Tip 3

Always have some grape berries in the freezer. This way, you only need to put a "pebble" of grapes in your wine glass and, the temperature will go down very quickly without being altered.