White Wines
Most people prefer their white wines chilled. More flavorful, fuller bodied white wines can be served at a slightly warmer temperature than bone dry whites. Most domestic refrigerators maintain their internal environment at about 4ºC, which is far too cold for most white wines. Champagne and dry white wines of quality are best served at a temperature between 8ºC and 10ºC (sometimes even a little higher), so just a bare hour in the fridge door will do fine here. Inexpensive white wines, cheaper sparkling wines and sweet white wines are best a little colder, perhaps 4ºC to 8ºC, so two hours or so should bring these bottles down to a reasonable temperature. Whites can generally be left in the refridgerator, but there are an impressive amount of wine coolers on the market that allow you to temperature control the environment your favorite wines.

Red Wines
It has been said that red wine should be served at room temperature. This recommendation originated at a time when “room temperature” was lower than is typical today. The ideal serving temperature for many fine red wines is perhaps 14ºC to 18ºC, somewhat cooler than modern houses, although this was a common temperature indoors in centuries gone by! Many reds, unless stored somewhere cool, will benefit from half an hour in the refrigerator. This is particularly the case for Beaujolais and young Burgundy, as well as Pinot Noir from the New World.So, if your red wines have been in a warm room you may want to chill them for about 10 minutes before uncorking.

When bringing the wine to the correct temperature, its obviously important not to damage the wine. Gentle cooling in the fridge is best, and cooling in a bucket of water and ice is also safe, and more rapid.

Wine Serving Temperature Chart

The Glass/Stemware



There is no “proper” way to serve wine in a glass. There are no “official” sizes, capacities, shapes or colors of wine glasses. Common sense and individual taste should be your guide. However, iIt is suggested show the wine the proper respect by serving it in a tulip shaped glass with a longer, slender stem and that the glass be clear in order to best view the color and body of the wine as it is pored and sipped.

There is no hard and fast rule on this red versus white glass question, but it is true that wines can smell and taste very different in different vessels. However, wine’s appeal is not just its taste and smell, but also the visual aspect. The shape and size of a wine glass can dramatically affect your perception of the wine that's contained in it. Champagne is best served in a tall slender tulip glass. Visual enjoyment of the bubbles that differentiate a sparkling wine from a still wine is enhanced by the height. Traditionally wine glasses with larger, broader bowls are used for bold red wines with bigger bouquets, and narrower wine glasses are used to concentrate the more delicate aromas of lighter white wines.

Wine glasses have been used since ancient times. Pliny (23–79 A.D.) wrote about gold and silver drinking vessels being abandoned in favor of glass, and they were frequently priced as high as the precious metal versions. Bonifacio Veronese’s sixteenth-century ‘Last Supper’ includes modern style wine glasses with a stem and foot. The oldest surviving European wine glasses with a stem and foot are fifteenth-century enameled goblets (a goblet is a glass holding more than four ounces of liquid).

The California Wine Institute has developed as an all-purpose wine glass. It is five and one half inches tall with a one and three quarter inch stem. Its clear, tulip-shaped bowl has a capacity of eight ounces.

Be sure not to fill a wine glass too full, one third to one half full at the most. You want to leave room to capture the bouquet in the upper bowl as it rises from the swirled wine, and to allow the glass to be tilted — at approximately a forty-five degree angle — to evaluate and enjoy the color of the wine.

If you are using stemware, be wary of the type of detergent you use to clean them and how you store them. Detergent residue can negatively impact the flavor and aroma of wine - if possible, wash your glasses in hot water with no detergent at all and air dry them. Store them upright so odors in your cabinet are not trapped in the glass.

Decanting Wine
There are a number of reasons to decant a wine; not the least of which that the presentation of wine in a beautiful crystal decanter adds to the ambience of a beautifully set table and prepared dinner. Decanting wine helps to remove sediment in wines, particularly aged wines, and it allows the wine to breathe, i.e., allows the aromas to interact with the oxygen in the air.

Allowing Wine to Breathe
Breathing refers to a wine as it comes in contact with the oxygen in the air to allow the aromas and flavors to become more apparent. However, there are a couple of myths regarding wine breathing. First, that all wine benefits from breathing is false.
Some big reds, Syrah/Shiraz and Italian Barolos benefit greatly from breathing, but in general most wines can be drunk immediately.

Another myth is that wine can breathe in the bottle. Just uncorking the wine will do little to allow it to breathe; since so little of the wine is able to interact with the air. Instead, allow wine to breathe either in a decanter or a glass.

Preserving Remaining Wine
There are a few methods for preseving remaing wine from an occassion. The first of which is simply recorking it and putting it in the refrigerator. This leaves oxygen in the bottle and effects the lifetime differently depending on the wine. For example, white wine can last a great deal longer (a week even) than red wine (2-3 days at most).

Another method is to vacuum pump the wine with a special pump. This method extracts the air out of the bottle and seals it for later use. The wine should still be placed in the refrigerator, but can last for several days longer in this fashion.

Keep a Wine Tasting Journal
Wine tasting is a journey filled with many experiences. And like most journeys, there are favorite destinations. A wine-tasting journal is the best method you'll find for revisiting your favorite spots—and making sure you stay on the right path. Like diaries, wine journals help you record your impressions, sharpen your observations and enhance your memories. So if you've never considered keeping a wine journal, here are some excellent reasons to get started:

Beginners

• Helps organize your impressions of different varietals.
• Keeps track of your favorites and not-so-favorites.
• Adds fun to wine-tasting parties.
• Captures your memories of great wines and great friends.
• Provides a handy reference for future purchases.
  

Experts

• Improves your wine-tasting technique.
• Sharpens your ability to evaluate wines.
• Maintains a record of favorite wine & food pairings.
• Records subtle differences of wines purchased by the case to determine how each bottle's aging improves its taste.