Don't Serve your Christmas Wines at the Wrong Temperature!

You may not realise it, but in the UK we routinely drink white wines too cold.

And if you serve your white wines at fridge cold temperatures over Christmas, I guarantee you will lose some of the flavours. You may even wonder why a particular wine doesn't taste as nice as the last time you tried it.

But it's easy to fix by adopting a new rule of thumb described below.

First, let's establish two key principles:

• Only sparkling wines like Champagne and sweet dessert wines should be served fridge cold. Yes, really.
• Light-bodied whites like Sauvignon Blanc are ideal served between 7-10°C while fuller whites taste fruitier at 10-13°C.

So how can we easily fix the problem of drinking wine too cold? Simple.

Get into the habit of taking your white wines out of the fridge at least 15 minutes before you want to drink them (for light whites) or 30-40 minutes before (for fuller, richer whites). This gives them time to warm up slightly.

You will be surprised at the difference this new habit can make, particularly with the richer and fuller wines. Try it and see,

I'm often asked a related question - can you chill red wines? Yes absolutely, but mainly the lighter reds like Beaujolais and Pinot Noir.

Chilling red wine is less important in winter - room temperature is usually fine - but if you notice a full, rich red tasting a bit harsh or bitter try putting it in the fridge for 10 minutes (you may have allowed it to get too warm).

Wait, there's more useful stuff...

At Cambridgeshire Wine School I love giving people information to increase your drinking pleasure.

If you want to give someone a fun and useful Christmas gift, why not add a Wine Tasting (or Gin Tasting) Gift Voucher to your stocking? Our gift vouchers last two years and are open-dated - your recipient chooses a convenient date and theme so you don't have to worry.

Click here for our most popular Gift Experiences for Christmas presents. There are Evening Wine Tasting vouchers for one or two, Cheese & Wine tasting vouchers, Champagne & Sparkling wine tasting vouchers and vouchers valid for a Saturday wine course with lunch in a beautiful Cambridge college!

I hope that's all helpful. Happy Christmas.

About the author

Mark Anstead offers a full programme of fun wine tastings and gin tastings in Cambridge and is available to hire for private parties and events.

He also teaches WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) courses leading to wine qualifications recognised all around the world.

For more information see www.cambridgeshirewineschool.com or call Mark on 01223 655391 or email: info@cambridgeshirewineschool.com.

© Mark Anstead 2019