The Serving Temperature of Your Wine Matters

The temperature at which a wine is served matters.  And, here's why.  The 'proper' serving temperature will ensure that you get the best experience from your wine.  Serve it too cold or too warm and you can loose a lot of the wine's character.

This is partly due to your nose and how a wine's aroma works along with its taste. A wine’s aroma is greatly affected by the wine's temperature.  A cold wine will have less of an aroma because fewer of the volatile compounds will be released from the wine. Conversely, a warmer wine will easily release these compounds and give you an opportunity to experience the wine's full aroma.

Then there's the way a wine tastes.  Serving a white wine too cold will mute its fruit flavors. White wines taste good when they are served cool because of their acidity and negligible tannin. The fruit flavors are zippy and bright and a bit of a chill will enhance this.  But full bodied white wines that have been aged in oak (e.g., Chardonnay) are best served not quite so cool to allow you experience the buttery and vanilla flavors that oak imparts.

Serving a red wine too cold will emphasize its acidity, bitterness and tannin.  But, serving a red wine at room temperature is a bit too warm and can emphasize the alcohol, yielding a burning sensation in your throat.

So, here are some general guidelines for the 'proper' serving temperatures of wines:

  • Sparkling Wine: 42° - 50° F

  • Light Whites: 46° - 54° F

  • Full Bodied Whites: 54° - 60° F

  • Rosé: 45° - 55° F

  • Light Reds: 50° - 54° F

  • Medium Reds: 57° - 63° F

  • Full Bodied Reds: 59° - 65° F

While most people don't have specialized multi-zone wine refrigerators to precisely control their wine temperatures, or take the time to use a fancy wine thermometer, here are a couple quick rules-of-thumb. 

  • Sparkling wine can be stored directly in a kitchen refrigerator and removed 30 minutes prior to serving

  • White wine can be placed in a kitchen refrigerator 30-60 minutes before serving. Or, if it's been stored in a kitchen refrigerator, simply remove it 30 minutes before serving 

  • Red wines can be placed in a kitchen refrigerator for 30 minutes prior to serving

If you really like your red and white wines at kitchen refrigerator temperatures (~34° F) or your red wines at room temperature, go ahead and continue enjoying them. But at some point, give these temperature suggestions a try. You just might find that your favorite wines are even better at the recommended temperatures. Cheers!

It's Time for Rosé!

In the past, rosé wines got a bad rap, and some of it was deserved. The White Zinfandel that became so popular in years' past has had a lot to do with rosé wines being greatly overlooked.

But rosés should not be rejected outright. There are many examples of rosés with great character.

Light rosés can have flavors of grapefruit, strawberry and sweet cherry, while darker, bolder rosés can have flavors of black currant and blackberry. These flavors come from the many varieties of grapes used to produce rosé.  Fruity rosé can come from the Grenache, Sangiovese and Zinfandel grapes while savory rosé is made from Tempranillo, Syrah and even Cabernet Sauvignon.  Other rosés are made from Mourvèdre, Pinot Noir, Cinsault and Clairette grapes.  Check the label. Nicer rosés will tell you the type of grape used in making the wine.

A key to finding dry versus sweet rosé is the wine’s alcohol content.  Sweeter wines, in general, have lower alcohol levels (not all the sugar was converted to alcohol during fermentation). All wines labels are required to show the percent alcohol of the wine. If it's down around 8 or 9 percent, it's usually going to be on the sweeter side.  In the 11 to 12 percent range, it will be mid-range between sweet and dry. And, above 12 percent it's going to be dry.  And, typically, rosés from Old World countries are going to be drier. French rosés from Provence are made of Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Mouvèdre, Spanish rosé (rosado) is typically made from the Grenache grape while Italian rosato is made with various grapes depending on where they are from. These are all excellent, dry rosés that are typically quite affordable (under $20).

Rosé wines go great with a large variety of foods and are typically served cool to cold.

Here’s to Spring and enjoying rosé wines! Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile's Maipo Valley

Maipo Valley

Chile’s Maipo Valley is located in the Central Valley near Santiago, and just north of the Colchagua Valley. The Coastal Range separates the Maipo Valley from the Pacific coast on the west and in the east, the Andes Mountains separate Maipo from the Argentinean region of Mendoza.

The first grape vines were planted around Santiago in the 1540s but it wasn't until the 1800s that viticulture really began to expand in Chile.

The Maipo Valley is known for fine wines. It is said that Maipo is known for Cabernet Sauvignons with prominent black fruit flavors, spicy undertones, and bright acidity, while Colchagua Cabernet Sauvignons are more full-bodied with structured tannins.

Here are three fine examples of Cabernet Sauvignon from the Maipo Valley:

  • 2016 Echeverria Limited Edition ($25)

This Echeverria is produced from 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10%Syrah and 5% Carménère grapes. It was fermented in stainless steel vats for 8-10 days with an extended skin maceration for additional 10-15 days. It then underwent malolactic fermentation before being aged in French oak barrels for 12 months. The wines were blended and returned to barrels for an additional six months.

This wine is medium ruby in color with light aromas of red fruits and spicy herbal notes. On the palate this wine is medium-to-full bodied with spicy, peppery notes, medium tannin and medium acidity that finishes easy.

  • 2018 Miguel Torres Reserva Especial Cordillera ($25)

The Miguel Torres Reserva Especial Cordillera is from the area of Pirque, a mountainous area of the Maipo Valley. The growing season include the influence of the La Niña phenomenon that resulted in a cooling of the Pacific Ocean, resulting in somewhat lower temperatures than normal prior to harvest.

This Miguel Torres Cordillera is produced from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. They were fermented in stainless steel tanks for 14 days and then underwent malolactic fermentation in 100% French oak. It was then aged for 12 months in French oak, 20% new and 80% second use, before bottling.

This wine is deep ruby in color with aromas of black cherry and blackberries, with a touch of bell pepper notes. On the palate it is medium bodied with good acidity, moderate tannin and a light finish.

  • 2017 Vina Aquitania Lazuli ($45)

This Vina Aquitania Lazuli Cabernet Sauvignon is produced from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes that range in age from 25 to 30 years old. It was fermented in stainless steel tanks with four days of cold soaking and six days of fermentation with pumpovers. It then underwent six additional days of post-fermentation maceration before malolactic fermentation in barrels. Aging occurred in French oak barrels (30% new) for 16 months.

This wine is medium ruby in color with aromas of black cherry and black fruit with light herbal notes. On the palate it is full-bodied and smooth with low acidity, light tannin and some spiciness on the finish.

Each of these Cabernet Sauvignon wines from Chile’s Maipo Valley are affordable and attainable and fit right in as Behind the Cork™ Wines of the Week. Cheers!

Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received these samples at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Samples Provided by the featured wineries of Chile (via Creative Palate)

Cabernet Sauvignon in Chile - The Maipo Valley

Last time we explored Chile’s Colchagua Valley that is located in the southern part of the Central Valley.

Now, let’s explore one of Chile's most important wine-producing regions, the Maipo Valley that is located just south of the capital, Santiago where Cabernet Sauvignon is its most celebrated wine.

The Maipo Valley was first planted around Santiago in the 1540s, but it wasn't until the 1800s that viticulture really began to expand significantly.

Maipo Valley Climate

Maipo is in the very northern part of Chile's Central Valley. On the west, the Coastal range of mountains separates the Maipo Valley from the Pacific coast, and on the eastern side, the Andes Mountains separate Maipo from the Argentinean region of Mendoza.

Daytime temperatures can be high but the higher altitudes (up to 2500 feet) ensure cooler night-time temperatures. These difference between daytime and night-time temperatures slows down the ripening process, resulting in higher quality grapes and higher quality wines.

The soil also creates challenging growing conditions for the vines, which have to struggle to get to a water source. As a result, the grapes provide concentrated and intense flavors.

Maipo Valley Terroir

The Maipo Valley is divided into the sub-regions of Alto Maipo, Central Maipo, and Pacific Maipo.

  • Alto Maipo sub-region is in the foothills of the Andes Mountains. The sub-region has a mountainous climate and extremely porous and rocky soil. These conditions place stress on the vines, which results in the production of elegant Cabernet Sauvignon.

  • Central Maipo is located along the Maipo River and is one of the oldest winemaking regions of Chile. In Central Maipo, Cabernet Sauvignon is the dominant varietal but more recently, winemakers in the region have also begun producing Carmenere wines.

  • Pacific Maipo is the youngest of the sub-regions in the Maipo Valley. This sub-region has only a few vineyards along the banks of the Maipo River. The grapes grown here benefit from the influence of the Pacific Ocean and the local alluvial soils.

Maipo Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

The Cabernet Sauvignon of the Maipo Valley are of high quality and offer tremendous values. They tend to be medium-full to full-bodied with herbal notes and moderate tannin. If you are looking for a Cabernet Sauvignon with red fruit flavors and more delicate notes than the ‘big’ Cabs from Napa, give the wines of the Maipo Valley a try.

Cheers!