A lot of wine enthusiasts wonder what temperature their wine should be when they open a bottle. The traditional, age-old response to the question is to serve white wines cold and red wines at room temperature. But, in this case, not only is traditional wisdom out of synch with the human palate according to recent university studies – it’s also vague and misleading.

First and foremost, what is room temperature?

Room temperature varies from season to season and from location to location.  In addition, traditional wine temperature recommendations don’t take modern heating and air conditioning into account, which greatly alter the temperature of a room.  Moreover, when the conventional wisdom of serving red wine at room temperature came into vogue in England and France centuries ago, room temperature was 55°- 65° F, at the most.  Consequently, the idea of serving wine at room temperature is useless to most of us today.

What is the best temperature for red wines?

Not surprisingly, university studies confirm that the vast majority of wine drinkers garner the most flavor and pleasure from red wines when consumed between 55°-65° F, which is decidedly cooler than room temperature in most American homes. Read more about chilling red wine here.

What is the best temperature for white wines?

Conversely, recent studies also indicate that wine drinkers report the greatest pleasure and taste from white wines consumed between 45°-55° F, which means we may be cheating ourselves by nearly freezing white wines before rapidly consuming them.

The Final Verdict

So, what’s a wine drinker to do?  Drink wine at the temperature that suits your palate, of course.  You may want to experiment with some of your favorite red wines by cooling them down for 15-20 minutes in the refrigerator and allowing white wines to sit in a glass for 15 minutes before guzzling them.  Personally, I think most of us consume red wines too warm and white wines too cold.  However, each of us has to determine his or her pleasure quotient.  So, why not experiment a bit, and see what suits you?

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After decades of treating viticulture like a chemistry experiment, wine growers have been steadily moving away from chemical intervention in favor of more sustainable methods of viticulture.  And it’s about time.   Less is often more in the growing and making of wine, and healthier for the planet as well as the wine drinker.  That’s not to say that all chemicals are bad because let’s face it, if I get really sick I want a medicine that will make me better.  However, the best way to treat disease is through prevention and management of chronic ailments and the same is proving true in viticulture. Instead of spraying to prevent all insects from appearing in the vineyard, natural predators such as ladybugs are introduced to control the vine destroying pests.  And in place of chemical herbicides, soil enriching ground cover is sown beneath the vines and occasionally plowed under to invigorate the soil.

These and other sustainable agricultural practices lead to sustainability made wines.  That is wines made with the minimal amount of intervention in ways that preserve or even enhance the natural environment.  At The International Wine of the Month Club™, we value the time, effort, and cost that wineries make to produce sustainable made wines because such wines are better for us, the planet, and they typically taste better than their non-sustainable counterparts.

Although not all of the wines we feature are certified organic or biodynamic (both of which require expensive certifications and may at times prevent an occasional necessary intervention), the vast majority of the wines we choose to feature are sustainability made.  All of the Trinchero Family Wines from California are products of organic and or sustainable viticulture as are the following upcoming features from the Thomas Alexander, the Molnar Family, Herdade de Gambia, Eidos de Padrinan, Querciola, Le Potazzine, Chateau Margui, and Vinya Gormaz to name just a few.  Enjoy!

Salude!
Don

Most of us look forward to weddings and parties, even though the reality is that the wines served at most such functions aren’t always the greatest… and that would be putting it mildly.  So what can we do?  As I see it, we have several options. We can do nothing and continue to allow banquet halls and event planners trying to maximize profits or minimize costs to choose the cheapest overpriced plunk they think they can get away with.  But for anyone who enjoys wine, this is not a viable option.

The best option is to ask to bring in your own wine.  Providing the corkage fee is not insane, you can often buy and provide better wine yourself for the same cost the caterer would charge for lesser plunk.  Even if you pay a few dollars more, at least you know what you’re getting and how it tastes.  To determine how much wine you will need, it helps to know the crowd, how many guests will likely drink wine and how many teetotalers there are.  Once you get a bead on the number of guests, figure at least three glasses or a half bottle of wine per wine drinker.  You can always adjust that number with the circumstances (availability of designated drivers and other alcoholic beverages, length and type of affair, etc.).

Now for the million dollar question?  What should I serve?  The answer to that question is simple: a variety of as many good white and red wines as you can afford, without confusing the crowd.  If I had to pick a reasonable number of wines to offer, I would stick with five or six at most.  For starters, a well made Italian Pinot Grigio or similar light white wine is a must.  And for that, the 2012 or 2013 Lungarotti Pinot Grigio gets my nod.  It’s not the cheapest, but it won’t break the bank either.  And of course a decent Chardonnay is obligatory.  Casarena from Argentina offers an excellent reasonably priced Chardonnay that will please both Old and New World Chardonnay drinkers.  Among reds, Cabernet Sauvignon is the number one favorite, with Pinot Noir coming on strong and gaining favor over Merlot, though Syrah is increasingly a crowd pleaser these days,  too.  Again Casarena offers a reasonably priced wine in their Cabernet, and it’s better than good for a crowd.  For Pinot Noir, why not consider Pietra Santa’s Estate Pinot Noir from Cienega Valley California or Sherwood’s Marlborough Pinot from New Zealand;  both present themselves well at a fair price.  Given the growing appeal of Syrah, I would choose Syrah over Merlot, unless you know the crowd is definitely into Merlot.  Black Pearl from South Africa makes a reasonably priced Syrah that is second to none at the price, so have a party and enjoy!

Salud!
Don