How should I serve wine?

Temperature, glassware and decanting — the three things that change how a bottle tastes without changing the bottle.

Difficulty: beginner
Time: 20 min
Read: 2 min

Short answer

Most red wine is served too warm and most white too cold. Reds are better around 15-18°C — cooler than most rooms — and whites around 8-12°C rather than straight from the fridge.

Temperature has a larger effect on how wine tastes than almost anything else. Too warm and alcohol dominates; too cold and aroma disappears. The traditional advice about room temperature was written for much colder rooms than we have now.

What you'll need

A fridge (optional)
Decent glasses (optional)
A decanter or jug (optional)

Step by step

Serve red wine cooler than room temperature.Around 15-18°C. Twenty minutes in the fridge before serving is right for most reds in a heated house.
Serve white wine less cold than the fridge.Around 8-12°C. Straight from a cold fridge, aromatics are suppressed. Ten minutes out of the fridge improves most whites noticeably.
Use a glass with a bowl and some space.Enough room to swirl, filled no more than a third. The aroma collects in the space above the wine, which is most of what you taste.
Decant young tannic reds.Pouring into a decanter or even a jug aerates it and softens the tannins. Half an hour makes a noticeable difference to a young structured red.
Decant older wine carefully for sediment.Stand it upright for a day, then pour slowly, stopping when sediment reaches the neck. Old wine needs less air, not more.
Open sparkling wine gently.Hold the cork and turn the bottle, easing the cork out with a sigh rather than a pop. It preserves the bubbles and is safer.
Serve sparkling wine cold, around 6-8°C.Colder than still white. It keeps the bubbles finer and the wine crisper.
Store opened bottles properly.Recorked in the fridge, including reds, for three to five days. A sparkling stopper for fizz. Let red come back up in temperature before drinking.

Tips

A wine that tastes harsh may simply be too warm, or too young. Twenty minutes in the fridge or half an hour in a decanter often transforms it.
Glass shape matters less than glass size and cleanliness. Any glass with a decent bowl beats a small tumbler.
Detergent residue in glasses ruins wine and kills the bubbles in sparkling. Rinse thoroughly and dry with a clean cloth.

Common mistakes

Serving red wine at modern room temperature — Around 20-22°C makes alcohol dominant and the wine taste flabby. Twenty minutes in the fridge fixes it.
Serving white wine straight from a cold fridge — Cold suppresses aroma, so you taste very little. Ten minutes out of the fridge lets the wine open up.
Filling the glass to the top — There is then no space for aroma to collect and no room to swirl. A third full is right.

Questions people ask

What temperature should red wine be served at?

Around 15-18°C, which is cooler than most heated rooms. Twenty minutes in the fridge before serving is usually right.

Does decanting wine actually make a difference?

For young tannic reds, yes — aeration softens the tannins noticeably within half an hour. For old wine, decanting is mainly about separating sediment rather than aerating.