Cruise Holidays

Wine Serving Temparature

Serving Temperatures
The basic rule of thumb for any wine drinker to know is that your Red Wine is served at room temperature and your White Wine is served chilled. As long as you have that down, you will not have your bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon in the refrigerator, chilling, and waiting for your dinner guests to arrive. Many experts can break it down from degree to degree; at what temp each varietal should be drunk at, starting at 65° and working their way down to 36°. Maybe they carry around a thermometer with the rest of their wine equipment, hey, that might be a cool look. The thermometer might actually have a place reserved in their plastic pocket protector, next to the protractor. We can be a little more relaxed around here.
Red Wine
65° is a good temp for you to drink most of your Red Wines at. That is a bit below the average room temp, you know how warm your house or apartment is. The 65° room temperature mark, is ideal for the bigger, bolder, red wines like California Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Bordeaux, Aussie Cabernet Sauvignon & Shiraz, Red Rhone wines, California Red Zinfandel & Merlot, Barolo, Chianti Classico, Rioja, South American Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot. Lighter bodied reds such as Pinot Noir from North America & Australia, Burgundy, Valpolicella, and Beaujolais-Villages, can be served at 60°. Just put that bottle in the fridge for about 45 minutes and it's ready to go. If you over chill it, the wine will warm up again. If you feel you don't need to go that extra mile for your wine, then you decide whether or not room temp will work with all your reds. Remember your drinking it, so you're the boss.
White Wine
The average temp of a refrigerator is 38°, so if you serve your Chardonnay right out of the fridge, chances are it is a bit too chilly. That chill will hold in many of the flavors that a White Wine has to offer. 50° is an ideal temp to serve your fuller bodied White Wines at. I leave mine out of the fridge for about 45 minutes at room temp before serving. Again you can be the judge of your own preference in serving temp. You may enjoy your Chardonnay very cold and refreshing right out of the fridge, and then let it warm up a bit as dinner progresses. 50° covers wines such as North American Chardonnay & Pinot Gris, sweeter German Whites, Sauternes, Aussie & Chilean Chardonnay, New Zealand Chardonnay, Chablis, and Northern Italian Whites. Going down in temp to 45° is nice for Sancerre, North American Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc & Riesling, Alsace, dry German Whites, Aussie & New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, and White Bordeaux.
Champagne & Sparkling Wine
Last but not least there is Champagne and Sparkling Wine. Right out of the fridge for these bottles is fine, and back into an ice bucket while you drink your fill. The still white wines do not need to be placed in ice while you dine. The option is to leave it out on the table, or put it in a marble wine chiller that just keeps the bottle cool, instead of ice cold. The ice bucket is made for the Sparkling Wines.

Italian Wine Selection:

• Falanghina
• Aglianico
• Barolo
• Valpolicella
• Greco di Tufo
• Chianti
• Lambrusco
• Orvieto
• Frascati
• Marsala
• Brunello di Montalcino
• Biancolella Ischia
• Taurasi
• Sangiovese
• Piedirosso
• Gavi di Gavi

Spumante and Sparkling wine

• Prosecco
• Franciacorta

Italian Recipes

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