It’s important to serve your wine at the right temperature in order to experience the aromas and flavors that the winemaker intends. A wine that’s too hot or too cold can drastically change the flavor and experience. We’re here to give you a guide for champagne/sparkling wine, white wines, red wines, and even dessert wines.

To always have your wine ready at the right temperature, and ensure a safe storage humidity, check out our recommended WINE REFRIGERATOR.

All of our recommendations should be taken as a general guideline. Everyone is free to enjoy wine they way they want. But in order to get the experience intended from the wines you love, here are our general rules.

Sparkling Wine (Champagne, Cava, Prosecco, Cremant, etc.):
38-50 degrees F. We recommend putting your wine in the freezer 1 hour before opening. This should bring it down from room temperature to right in the perfect range. Of course, the fancier the wine, the warmer you should go in the range.

White Wine: 44-57 degrees F.
This is basically refrigerator temperature. The lighter and zesty the white wine is, the colder in this range you should go. Oaked whites are better on the higher end of this range. Throw your wine in the fridge about 8 hours before you would like to consume. Make sure you check out our wine storage post on how to store wine long term, as the fridge is too dry for corks long term. Also, check our post on chilling wines fast if you’re in a pinch.

Light Reds (Grenache, Pinot Noir, St. Laurent, Zinfandel, Burgundy, etc.):
53-63 degrees F. The more fruity the wine, the warmer it can be. Put the bottle in the fridge 30 minutes before opening to get it perfectly in this range.

Rich Reds (Bordeaux, Chianti, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz, Rioja, etc.):
63-69 degrees F. High tannin wines smooth out a bit at warmer temperatures. Keep in mind it’s easier to warm the wine in your glass than to cool it. For bold reds, you can usually take the wine right off the storage rack or your cellar and enjoy. If it’s a warm summer day in your house, you can put it in the fridge about 15 minutes to get it down to cellar temperature.

Dessert Wines:
It’s easy to over-chill dessert wines. Most red dessert wines, like ruby port, should be served around 55 to 65 degrees F. Really, the better the quality, the higher in the range you should go. White dessert wines can go a little colder. Typically 45-50 degrees.