What is the Perfect temperature for serving wine ?
Well that all depends on the type of wine. However, most wine neophytes don't pay much attention to service temperature at wine tastings or dinners and it can have a dramatic impact on the presentation of the wine. While a wine at the ideal temperature can show beautifully, the same wine at too high a temperature or too low a temperature can seem unbalanced, hesitant or even appear to have off aromas and flavors. I encourage you to pay some attention to wine temperature when learning how to serve wine to your guests.
Effect of the wrong wine temperature…..?
Many of the components of a wine's aroma and flavor are very temperature dependent. For example, alcohol is a volatile substance which is very temperature sensitive. Higher wine temperature accelerates alcohol, aroma and flavor and lower temperature tends to hide it. Likewise, many aromatic compounds in wine are more noticeable at higher temperatures because they are volatilized more and are hidden at lower temperatures. Ideally, I want a wine at a temperature where all these components are balanced so that none are too dominant or obtrusive. At higher temperatures the wine can seems "hot" exhibiting too much alcohol which obscures the other aromas while at too low a temperature the aromas may be hidden and hard to distinguish. A enjoyable medium is the goal which varies for different types of wines.
Controling the wine temperature while serving?
Most people, even those that are really picky about correct wine temperature, do not take specific temperature readings of their wines. To dip a clean thermometer into my open bottle to get an exact reading, this would be impractical for most situations. While a strip thermometer can be held against the side of the wine bottle or decanter, this may be misleading because if the bottle was recently in the refrigerator or an ice bucket the outside may be cooler than the wine within. More importantly, having a sense for what temperature the wine was to begin with will helps me to determine the right time to serve the wine. The three main ways we can get an initial temperature for a bottle of wine is a wine cellar, a refrigerator and a Champagne bucket or other wine chilling ice bucket. By knowing the temperature of these areas, you can estimate the starting temperature of your bottle.
On the other hand, if you are not in control of the wine service, for example if you are served a wine at a tasting or dinner which is not at the correct wine temperature, there are a few things you can do. If the wine is served too cold and you are having a hard time smelling the aromatics, hold the bowl of your glass in your hand and swirl the wine around. The warmth of your hand will help warm up the wine faster than just sitting at room temperature. On the other hand, if you are served a wine which is too warm it may be hard. If you are in a restaurant, ask your server for an ice bucket to chill the rest of the bottle. Maybe suggest to your host that the remainder of the bottle be chilled a bit if you feel comfortable doing so.
Ice bucket temperature, Refrigerator temperature & Cellar temperature?
Most refrigerators have a temperature of about 1.7 - 3.3° C (35 - 38° F). This means that wines which have sat long enough to equilibrate in the refrigerator at this temperature will be first removed. This is too cool to serve wine immediately for any type of wine! Any wine straight out of the fridge will not show many aromatics and will seem simple and close up. An ice bucket with plenty of ice and some water such as a Champagne bucket is even colder at close to 32° F (0° C). Not everyone has a wine cellar, but a standard wine cellar keeps wine at a stable 55° F (13° C).