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Wine temperature

Hello people, I wish to know what is the recommended temperature for red wines.

I mail order mine, and pay around 6 English pounds per bottle.

The orders comprise of all kinds (mostly New World), although I cannot remember a claret, or anything 'dry'.

Having read a couple of websites I was surprised that they recommended a much lower temperature than I think I have been using.

I have no way of measuring, but I hold the bottle to my cheek and when it does not feel cool, this seems to work. Usually this means warming by immersion in warm water or for emergency we have one of those warmer-jackets that turns white when warming up.

I have noticed that temperature can affect the taste, and also most of it seems to taste the better for being uncorked and finished the next day. (I never usually finish a full bottle at one sitting, except when entertaining of course)

I don't drink much white wine, but I do agree with some advice that a modern fridge can cool it far too low.

I wonder if the temperatures recommended for red wines for different countries,differs because their ambient temperatures differ?

My home is around 65 degrees F. I store wine in much lower temperatures probably never much more than 50F, in summer, and currently around 45F.but due to space and organization, it may lie at room temperature for up to a month.

Your advice would be apreciated.

p.s. Is there anything in the advice I had that shaking an opened bottle oxidises the wine and brings it to a state quickly where "breathing" would have done it slower?

Reply to
Streuth Cor Blimey
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Over and above the good advice above, Streuth Cor Blimey should note the following two points:

  1. Not all red wines are best at the same temperature. Lighter reds (for example, Beaujolais) are often better at lower temperatures than heavier ones.
  2. It really doesn't matter what the "recommended temperature" is. You should drink it at the temperature *you* prefer it at. Recommendations should be nothing more than a starting place for your experimentation. You might want to do something like pour half a bottle into a clean bottle, then warm up (or cool down) one of your bottles and compare them to see which *you* prefer.
Reply to
Ken Blake

"Ken Blake" skrev i melding news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com... .

In a way true. But, note that wines that are served too warm lose a lot of their taste characteristics. Inexperienced tasters therefore may find a warm wine less obtrusive and so easier to drink. I feel that you should train your palate to accept red wines at 60-65degrees Fahrenheit - do as suggested: explore various temperatures at the same time. I feel quite sure that as time passes by, you'll find that the age-old recommendations have a sound basis. Anders

Reply to
Anders Tørneskog

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