06 August 2012

How to chill wine

A column at the Smithsonian goes into details on proper serving temperatures for red and white wines.
Most red wines are served too warm; the “room temperature” rule originated in Europe, where room temperature is between 60 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit. On the other hand, chilled white wine came from the European cellar, where temperatures hover around 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

In America, to achieve the ideal wine temperature you actually have to cool red wines and warm white wines, assuming your reds are stored in a room temperature wine rack and your whites are kept cold (too cold!) in the refrigerator. Average room temperatures can be over 70 degrees and most refrigerators are a frosty 35 degrees Fahrenheit. One critic recommends putting a bottle of red wine in the fridge for 45 minutes before serving while taking a bottle of white wine out of the fridge 30 minutes prior to serving.
Personally if I want to enjoy a three-bottles-for-$10 Pinot Grigio and there isn't one in the refrigerator, I just drop in a couple ice cubes.

Oenophiles (and newbies to this blog) might like to read my 2009 post about freezing wine and medieval distillation processes.

9 comments:

  1. I think it's safe to assume Europeans did not calculate the perfect serving temperatures, only to realise they happened, by unfathomable coincidence, to perfectly match the temperatures of their rooms and cellars -- and I, for one, don't set my thermostat based on my taste in wine. Surely this is just hypercorrectness? These temperatures are traditional -- not experimentally proven optimums.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Andrew, a more sensible comment I have yet to read!

      Delete
  2. Yes, that chart is silly...there would be an optimum temperature for any wine depending on one's taste but each varietal will vary...a quick check of other wine articles there reveals other such sketchy info. But Stan's right about Pinot Grigio & ice...I'm having one now!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Rather than nonsensical historical explanations, or authoritative gourmet opinions the reasons behind drinking/serving temperatures are straight forward physics.

    Primarily red wine needs to be aerated from the immediate stench after opening, a process which is sped up several times at higher temperatures.

    Secondly temperature increases vapor pressure and the release of aroma, which is the most appreciated thing about red wine, even though most refreshing drinks are best served cold. Reasons to prefer colder temperatures:
    1. To reduce the intensity of (exceedingly rich) red wine aroma, by lowering temperature, reduce the smell of alcohol, as mentioned in the article.
    2. To increase the tasting experience (cold drinks taste better), as a trade-off for aromatic experience (cold drinks smell less).
    3. To find rationalizations to getting drunk regularly and habitually, on a budget, under the guise of culture and sophistication.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Right now, for the little 4-packs of wine, the Gallo family of wines is the best bargain. This alternates with the Woodbridge and Sutter Home brands, though I'm less enamored with wines in plastic bottles.

    I usually pour one of these one-glass bottles over three cubes of ice and let site for a couple of minutes.

    Not too bad for a limited budget.

    Lurker111

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's let _sit_. Jeez.

      Lurker111

      Delete
  5. "...I just drop in a couple ice cubes. "

    Wrong!

    What you do is freeze some grapes. Then drop 3 or 4 of them in your glass of inexpensive wine. They will cool it without diluting it. And then you eat the grapes after you finish your drink.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I understand the idea, but what's wrong with diluting wine - which is after all, in effect, diluted brandy? I routinely dilute my bourbon.

      Delete
  6. I have one of those little refrigerators that holds 6 bottles of wine. I just keep it at cellar temp (55 grad F = 12.8 grad C) and I don't think too much about if the wine is white or red.

    The cold distillation process you mention was used to make Tactical Nuclear Penguin Beer. At 32% alcohol by volume you can be the judge of how appropriate the term "beer" is for such a beverage.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...