Obviously, being all about wine coolers, you’ll find plenty of information on the best way to keep your wines cool by looking around the website further – we’ve got a guide on how to pick the best wine cooler for your needs and our picks of the best wine coolers available.
But, there’s more to serving wine than just cooling so we’ve put together a few other things to think about when serving drinks.
Temperature
Red and white wines prefer different temperatures.
You’ve probably heard that red wines can be served at room temperature and this is mostly true however, it’s rare that the temperature in a room will remain steady enough to warrant not using a cooler of some sort. If you are likely to store red wines, you should look out for models that have a range of 60-65℉ (15-18℃). This will keep your red wines happy and we all know, a happy wine is a good tasting wine!
Meanwhile, white wines should be served chilled. People often make the mistake of thinking white wines can easily be chilled in your regular refrigerator. Unfortunately for your wine, standard refrigerators are usually set at a temperature somewhere around 35℉ (1.6℃) which is actually too cold for your wine. White wines prefer to be chilled between 45 and 50℉ (7-10℃).
Roses can be kept and served much the same as whites, but, if you have sparkling or ice whites, these should be kept at lower than 45℉ (7℃) so could potentially go in your regular fridge.
These suggested temperatures are a guide only, personal preference must also kick in at some point so you may need to experiment and discover which temperatures you prefer and get the most out of your wines.
Breathing
Believe it or not, all wines, red and white should be given the chance to breathe before serving. While I know you just want to open your bottle and start drinking, to get the most out of your wines you should really use a decanter to help the breathing process. Simply opening the bottle and leaving it for a while does not allow enough air into the bottle for it to fully aerate.
Decanters come in many shapes and designs, any of them will work, you just need to expose the wine to air. You can choose from the Le Chateau Wine Decanter which is well-rated and popular due to its lead-free crystal design.
Or maybe go for a fancier option like the YouYah Iceberg Wine Decanter
which comes with an aerator filter that reportedly speeds up the aerating process so you can drink your wine sooner!
For a more exotic looking decanter, the wine decanter set by Sublime Gift
is super stylish, very well rated and even comes with stainless steel cleaning beads, all at a very reasonable price.
Whichever decanter you choose, if the wine is older and contains any sediment, you should make sure that you don’t pour the sediment into the decanter when you pour the wine from the bottle – try to leave any sediment in the bottle.
If you haven’t got a decanter yet, you can try swirling the wine in your glass before you drink it. This helps to circulate some air and brings out the flavors in your wine. A lot of us do this instinctively from watching too many wine connoisseurs on the TV! At least now you’ll know why!
Wine Glasses
So, what type of Wine Glasses should you serve wine in?
Generally speaking, red wines are better served in a bowl-shaped glass, this again helps to get more surface area to be in contact with the air and aerate your wine.
Meanwhile, white wines are usually served in what’s known as a tulip-shaped glass. This shape works well for white wine as it helps to preserve the temperature of the wine and its flavor. Pro tip – when drinking white wine, hold the wine glass by the stem so your hands don’t increase the temperature of the wine, remember white wines like to be cool.
How much wine should you pour into a glass?
As tempting as it may be to fill your glass to the brim with wine, this is not the best practice if you want to get the most out of your wine.
A good rule of thumb is to fill red wine glasses one-third full, white wine glasses one-half full and sparkling wines, like champagne, about three-quarters full.
Not being full to the brim again comes back to exposing the wine to air and maintaining optimum temperature. By filling a red wine glass only one-third full you are more able to give it a good swirl.
Don’t feel too disappointed by lower volumes in your wine glass – you can always have another glass!