Gents, Almost complete on building the bar downstairs. Picked up a 30 bottle dual zone wine cooler. I not big into wines, but was wondering what most people keep their Reds & Whites at? Red zone can go from 50-64 White from 41-50 I've gone 52 & 44...??? IIRC James Bond (SC) loved his Rothschild at 52...=) Thanks, happy holidays
I keep everything at 14 C (reds, whites and bubblies). I don't like overly chilled whites so I find that to be a good temperature and it can be easily lowered a few degrees in an ice bucket or chill wrap. Likewise, reds can be brought up to ideal temperature fairly quickly as they breathe. www.winecomplements.net
If you dont have a fancy fridge chill a red 20 minutes before serving, take a white out 20 minutes before serving.
55 for reads, smidge colder for whites and you should be good to go. Just avoid large fluctuations. Wine wants consistent temps. Wine at normal fridge temps is too cold. As stated above, remove from fridge prior to drinking. If you get served a wine that is too cold, just cup your hand around the bowl to help bring the wine in the glass up a few degrees. Just don't make it a habit of holding any wine by the bowl, use the stem...that's what its for.
I think it is hard to generalize (except about storage temps). Depending on the specific wine, it may taste best at any temp from about 40F (certain bubbles) to almost room temp. I think the generalizations given are good, though.
55 temp/humidity is for storage, not serving. Whites can take a slight chill before serving, some Reds can use a little warmth for same reason, but storage is for preservation, which is the name of the game.
What he said. Next time you open a white, make sure you take a sip while really cold. You will notice that the fruit has disappeared and the acid is strong. As the wine warms a little, you will notice the acidity mellows and the fruit appears. Experiement some and it will start to make sense. Be a geek with a digital, instant-read thermometer for grins and giggles so you can see how the wines evolve as the temps change. Plus, the more you experiement, the more wine you get to drink as you expand your knowledge. This is the fun part.
The colder the storage temp., the slower it will age. There are reports for years of pre-phyloxera clarets preserved remarkably well in very cold Scottish cellars, some in the mid forties and with ice cold water running through them. Judge your consumption patterns and if you drink most of your wines within around 5-7 years then you may consider a bit warmer or around 60 degrees. Some very large wines (reds) with lots of extract and hense potencial longer life might not change much at lower temps for years, conversely biological changes in some wines are held at bay by lower temps, say at 50-55 degrees. 57 degrees seems to offer the best of preservation and proper short term aging and flavor development. If you desire longer term aging of big reds, 55 degrees seems to fit the bill.
