Living on Aphrodite’s island, it is common to get used to high temperatures, during summer time and sometimes, even during winter, with the first season lasting for 2/3 of the year. Saying that, we should strive to keep summer away from our wine glasses.
A wine tasting experience to be complete, demands the entire varietal bouquet being fully experienced— which is connected to the smell as much as the taste. For a wine to be enjoyed properly, and at the same time to display its full character to us, it needs to be served and drunk in the right temperature.
The serving temperature of wine has a profound effect on how it smells and tastes. When a wine is warmer than it should be, it may seem flat with eliminated acidity and a heavy burning feeling from the alcohol. When thinking about wine, a soupy texture and the lack of fruit and aromas missing, is not what should come to our minds.
Likewise, when a wine is served colder than it should, you may end up losing the aromas and the actual taste of it. Putting ice in wine (which by the way, is a NOT-to-do recommendation), will water it, which will give you a completely tasteless and odorless wine.
Below is a generic list of common wine types in reference to their serving temperatures:
- Champagne and sparkling wines: 5-7 °C
- White and rose wines: 7 – 10 °C
- Light bodied reds: 10 – 12 °C
- Fresh red wines: 14 – 16 °C
- Full bodied aged red wines: 16 – 18 °C
Extra Tip: Have in mind that by the time the wine enters a wine glass, its temperature will only rise, so a good strategy is to serve it 1-2 degrees Celsius lower than it is supposed to be served. By doing so, you guarantee that you will enjoy your precious wine, as it was destined to be appreciated.
Try tasting a wine that you once rejected but this time, make sure that it is served at the correct temperature. You might by happily surprised because serving your wine at the proper temperature will feel like you breathe life to it, once more.
See you next week!
Until then.. Strike for a glass half full !
Nicole x
