Wine Serving Tips

Choosing a Serving Temperature

The taste of a wine varies with the temperature at which it is served. There are three widely accepted "correct" temperatures..

Room temperature

65°F (18°C) is considered "room temperature." This is appropriate for medium to full-bodied red wines

Cellar temperature

57°F (14°C) is considered "slightly chilled" or "cellar temperature". This is appropriate for full-bodied white wines and light-bodied red wines. If a bottle has been in the refrigerator for a length of time, you can let the bottle stand at room temperature for about half an hour to achieve this temperature.

Chilled

Tasting wine is always a pleasureable experience

52°F (11°C) is considered "chilled". This is correct for light- to medium-bodied white wines. The typical refrigerator is set at about 40°F (4°C), so if a bottle has been in the refrigerator for a length of time, you can let it stand at room temperature for 10-15 minutes to achieve this temperature.

Opening the bottle

If the wine has a twist top, twist it off. This method of sealing has advantages, prime of which is ease of resealing to save some for later. A screw top makes a solid seal with the glass bottle, and is very easy to open.

Natural cork and artificial cork are equally good methods to seal a wine bottle. The artificial cork may actually be better according to some experts.

If using the common double lever corkscrew, follow these steps:

1. Resting the point of the corkscrew on the foil (or aluminum or plastic) just below the rim of the bottle, rotate the bottle to cut the foil. Remove the foil and discard it.
2. Insert the point of the corkscrew in the center of the cork. Apply light pressure and twist to begin cutting into the cork.
3. Continue to twist until one twist of the screw remains above the cork. Avoid drilling the screw so deep that it emerges from the bottom of the cork, since this can cause bits of cork to drop into the wine. The opposing handles will now be pointing up.
4. Place the bottle upright on a table or countertop..
5. Slowly but firmly force the two levers apart, pulling the cork upward until the cork is about two thirds of the way out of the bottle. Taking care not to break the cork, use the body of the corkscrew as a handle to gently pull, wiggle and twist the cork completely out of the bottle. If you want to be fancy, you can back the cordscrew out of the cork at the two-thirds point and then use your finger and thumb to remove the cork the final third.

Use a napkin to wipe off the top of the bottle. Remove any cork residue from the mouth of the bottle before pouring.