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Unlike many food products, wine bottles do not usually come with instructions on how best to serve. Many today follow the simple rule of thumb that organic white wine should be chilled, and organic red wine should be room temperature. While this isn’t an entirely bad way of thinking, it isn’t anywhere near detailed enough when one thinks of how every individual wine out there has slightly different optimum serving temperatures. Whether or not an organic wine lives up to the hype about it, or to the description on the bottle, depends greatly on serving temperature.
So what exact temperature is best? Of course it depends on the individual organic wine, but here are some guidelines to get you started.
#1: Tart, Bright and Sparkling Organic White Wines
A temperature between 39-50°F helps preserve the freshness and fruitiness.
#2: Full-Bodied Whites + Light Reds:
Between 50°F and 59°F will keep it refreshing while accentuating its finer features.
#3: Full-Bodied Reds + Ports
Between 59°F and 70°F is ideal for bringing out the power of the tannins, and giving a more supple taste.
If that’s the rule you currently go by, then you’re probably doing it right. But, as it says above, each organic wine has their own ‘favorite’ temperature, depending on the amount of fruit, tannins, alcohol etc;. So unless you have a sophisticated cooler with separate zones to suit each type you might get it wrong by a degree or two.
One sure fire guideline though is that no organic wine should ever be served at a temperature more than 70°F. Also, don’t forget that while temperature is important, it’s not the be all and end all in how good an organic wine tastes. There are also the factors of humidity, glassware and decanting, just to name but a few.
To sum up, following the above guide will help you ensure that when you are serving organic wine to guests, or even just enjoying a glass yourself, the wine’s full potential will be unleashed into the glass. Do your best to meet the individual requirements of each type. But if you are still unsure whether or not it’s right, another good place to start is to lower the temperature a degree or two. Once it’s in the glass, the only way is up! Better it’s a little cool and can warm up, than be too warm.
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