Wine temperatures

[Susanwusan]

Hi.  I work with someone (who doesn't work in the kitchen) who insists that white wine must be chilled and red must be at room temperature.  The fridge the white is kept in measures 1 - 5oC, the cupboard with a light constantly on measures 22 - 24oC.  It is cheap stuff from the supermarket, probably made up from wine concentrate.  I don't know much about wine and I don't drink it, but I would say that the fridge temperature is way below "chilled" and the cupboard temperature is way above "room" temperature.  Thinking about food safety or at least the degrading of the red wine, I have put an opened bottle in the fridge only to find it back in the cupboard!  Nobody is currently drinking the red but my feeling is that if it is kept in the cupboard, it would not be drinkable after a relatively short period and why can't red be drunk chilled - what about all those red wine drinkers in hot countries?  Please feel free to give your opinions!

[blue_dolphin]

13 minutes ago, Susanwusan said:

I don't know much about wine and I don't drink it

Who is drinking this wine and why are you concerned?   Are they your customers?

If whoever is consuming it is happy, that's pretty much all that matters.  

 

If this is the starting material:

15 minutes ago, Susanwusan said:

It is cheap stuff from the supermarket, probably made up from wine concentrate. 

it's not something I've ever heard of but I wouldn't worry about it from a food safety perspective (it could turn into vinegar, which might be an improvement) and it's hard to imagine it could get much worse!

 

[weinoo]

I'd say that wine you're talking about above can be drunk at any temperature the drinkers feel like drinking it at. I'd also say the temperatures you're showing, if I'm converting them to F correctly, are wrong for probably 90% of the wines you're asking about. 

 

The other opened one is safe, but not drinkable.

 

And extremely broad range, with exceptions, might be between  43℉ and 55 for whites and say 58℉ - 68℉ for reds. With lots of further refinement only adding to how the wine smells and tastes. Once wine is poured into the glass, it will most likely warm up, so I don't mind serving a wine which is best at like 50℉ a few degrees cooler to start, and the with serving a red a bit cooler either - my room temp in this apartment is usually close to 75℉, not a temp I prefer any liquid at.

[ambra]

Depending on the type of white, I usually look for 8-12 C, the warmer for structured or evolved whites.  (N.B. Sparkling wines usually 4-8 C.) For reds, 12-18 C. Here temps go up for structure, evolution and tannins. 

 

 

 

However, I would also agree with the above posters that you should drink what you like, how you like it. I never tell anyone what to drink unless they ask me. I remember once sitting next to someone eating a gorgeous dish of spaghetti and clam sauce (beachside) with a glass of Sagrantino. I personally would not enjoy that pairing, but it's not my business what this person drank.