4 minute read
Last time, we covered off the ‘right’ temperature at which to serve sparkling and sweet wines. The headline there is … well-chilled. While you can worry about a temperature range, straight out of the fridge is going to serve you well as a guideline.
This time, things are a little trickier. We’ll talk about whites and rosés, but, of course, there’s whites and then there’s whites! You’re probably wondering if you would you serve your light and breezy Pinot Grigio at the same temperature as your very serious white Burgundy … and you’re right to do so.
In general, we do want to serve our lighter whites and rosés a little cooler than we want to serve our big, serious wines.
Chilling a wine does a couple of things. A quick recap if you don’t remember!
Firstly, it enhances our perception of the wine’s acidity. Acidity is the mouth-watering characteristic of wine which makes us reach for another glass and gives us that sense of refreshment. That sounds like a great thing, right? And yes, it is. But the flip side is that chilling a wine can start to mask flavours and if we’ve got a fabulous, complex Chardonnay, we want to be able to enjoy every one of those flavours, even the most subtle ones.
So we really don’t want to over-chill a white wine. Something which is light, relatively simple – so with one or two key flavours – we want it to be refreshing so we’re going to serve it a little cooler, but not sooooo cold that those flavours disappear altogether. We’re looking at about 10°C. This is the type of temperature where you want to get the wine out of the fridge maybe half an hour or so before serving – and, unless it’s a fearsomely hot day – you probably don’t want to dump it in a bucket of ice. Wine in the bottle takes a surprisingly long time to warm up when the ambient temperature is relatively normal so you don’t need to worry about your wine getting too warm. If anything, Australians are shockers for serving their wines too cold!
And, of course, if your wine does start to warm up … then pop it back in the fridge.
Bigger, more complex wines we want to serve them a little warmer again – so this time around 13°C. Cool enough that the wine’s acidity can still shine but also warm enough that you can appreciate the range of aromas and flavours.
OK – this is all well and good – 10°C for some whites, 13°C for others. But – what’s what here?
As a guide, wines that haven’t seen very much in the way of winemaking are often the ones best served slightly cooler. Think of a Pinot Grigio or a Sauvignon Blanc – bright, refreshing, lighter bodied wines that generally won’t have had time in oak barrels (or lees contact or gone through malo … all the wine-making things!). Riesling would usually fall into this category, alongside grapes like Vermentino, a Semillon (or a Semillon Sauvignon Blanc blend) and a Grüner Veltliner. Rosés also fall into this category – predominately a rosé is, after all, about refreshment!
The slightly warmer wines would be wines like a premium Chardonnay that has spent time in small oak barrels (and so on). The tasting notes on the back might make mention of spices, dairy characteristics, a fuller body – rather than just rattling off a list of fruits. Not just Chardonnay, of course – Fiano, some wines labelled Pinot Gris, and grape varieties like Roussanne. Some Sauvignon Blanc gets the oak treatment too, in which case those wines would be a candidate for the slightly warmer temperature.
It’s worth having an experiment to find out where your sweet spot is … perhaps pour a couple of small glasses of the same wine and taste them over the course of an hour or two. You’ll be able to see for yourself the difference the temperature makes!
