Unfortunately, people tend to serve red wines at room temperature, which is generally too warm, especially in summer. On the other hand, they often serve white wines right out of the fridge, and that temperature is generally too cold to enjoy any white at its best, with the possible exception of some sparkling wines.
Optimal pouring temperatures vary by wine type and characteristics. The wine’s weight, or “body,” matters as much as or more than its color when it comes to serving temperature. Serve lighter red and white wines, such as pinot noir and sauvignon blanc, at a lower temperature than you do heavier red (cabernet sauvignon or merlot) and white (chardonnay) varietals.
The chart below lists the serving temperatures recommended by our wine experts and gives the times required to reach them in the refrigerator, freezer, or, if you’re in a hurry, a bucket of ice and water. They’re based on the typical refrigerator temperature of 37 °F in the main compartment and 0 °F in the freezer, and storage at room temperature. If the wine is cooler--say you’ve removed it from a temperature-controlled wine cellar--trim times by about 20 percent for every five degrees. The chart also includes adjustments for the warmer room temperatures of summer.
To obtain these times, our refrigerator testers put electronic devices that measure temperature into wine bottles full of water, which they found cooled down at the same rate as wine. Then they put the bottles in the various chilling media and recorded the drops in temperature.
Consider those temperatures and times as general guides only. The temperature ranges might at first seem unusual if you’re accustomed to drinking a cabernet sauvignon that’s been stored in a wine rack in the kitchen or a chardonnay that’s been sitting in the refrigerator. In the end, it’s likely that you’ll notice a wider range of flavors and other components in your wine, especially when you’re drinking bottles that are of better quality.
Give our suggestions a shot with this exercise: Open a good bottle--it needn’t be expensive; any of our recommended Best Buy choices will do--and decant half the wine to a clean, empty bottle. Store one half-bottle as you customarily do and follow our temperature guidelines for the other. Then do a side-by-side taste comparison, focusing on additional subtleties you might notice with the wine served as we recommend.
The Consumer Reports Guide to Wine Temperatures and Chilling Times
| Wine type(s) | Examples of varietals | Recommended temperature range (°F) | Approximate chilling times for wine at 70 °F* | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| REFRIGERATOR | FREEZER | ICE AND WATER | |||||
| White wines | Lighter | Champagne, pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, rosé | Mid-40s | 2¾ hr. | 20 min. | 10 min. | |
| Heavier | Chardonnay | Mid-50s | 2 hr. | 15 min. | 5 min. | ||
| Red wines | Lighter | Pinot noir, Beaujolais | Mid-50s | 2 hr. | 15 min. | 5 min. | |
| Merlot, Côtes du Rhône | Upper 50s | 1½ hr. | 10 min. | 5 min. | |||
| Heavier | Cabernet sauvignon, zinfandel, shiraz/syrah | Low 60s | 40 min. | 5 min. | 2 min. | ||
| *For wine that’s at 80 °F, add: | 30 min. | 5 min. | 2 min. | ||||
More information: Read our tasting reports on red and white wines. And learn what to do with your leftover wine.
