The style of your white wine impacts what temperature it should be served at. You need to consider factors like the weight and body of the wine, and whether it has been oaked. If white wine is served too cold, flavours and aromas will be muted. Too warm and they become flat and flabby. Someone bring an ice bucket to chill this bottle down!
At a glance
- Lighter white wines are served chilled, between 7-10 ̊ C
- White wines with more body, or oak, should be served at a warmer temperature of 10-13 ̊ C – just lightly chilled.
- Sparkling wines are best served well chilled, at 6 – 10 ̊ C
The best temperatures for white wines. Credit: Annabelle Sing/Decanter
Cooler temperatures bring out the acidity and tannic qualities of a wine.
Young, crisp and aromatic wines show well at the lower end of the spectrum, as cool temperatures emphasise their refreshing qualities and acidity. Mature, complex whites are best served cool rather than cold, their aromas being more open at the warmer end of the scale. And wines such as Chardonnay and Viognier are often better straight from the cellar rather than putting them in the fridge, in our opinion – we don’t like them too cold.
A sweeter wine like a Riesling doesn’t need any help bringing out tart taste – so pop it in the fridge to cool it down to about 10 ̊ C – a bit more chill can accentuate the grape’s natural acidity.
A tip can be to put your whites in the fridge for an hour and a half for a light chill, two and a half hours for a full chill. Sparkling wines should be served well chilled.
Can your white wine get too cold?
Yes – if it’s served too cold, it can potentially mask some of the flavours.
As a rule, people tend to over-chill their whites, but at least a wine that’s too cold will gradually warm up in the glass. ‘If wines get too cold, at a certain point a wine will loose it taste and even can become unpleasant.
Chilling wine in a hurry? If I’m in a hurry, I’ll put them in the freezer for 15-29 minutes, but make sure you don’t forget about them! Or use an ice bath and submerge the wine to cool it nicely. If all else fails, I personally like an ice-cube or two in my glass – something South African’s seem to do alot (probably as it is so hot over there!). It’s my wine, so I can what I like, surely? 😉
