Wine Serving

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Contents: Serving temperature | Decanting | Glasses Wine Serving tips (wine - food pairing) at: FurlongsLiquor.com
Quarterly Review of Wines (QRW.com)

Ideal Wine Serving Temperatures
he old rule, was to serve red wines at room temperature and white wines (and roses) chilled.
When I was a freshman at UC Davis our dorm advisor was Professor Amerine a world renowned enologist. In a Q&A session someone askes about some of these wine rules, likes serving red wines at room temperature and white wines (and roses) chilled and paring of wine with food.
Dr Amerine said those temperature rules were from the English and French in the 18th century, when room temperature in an old castle was in the 60s and you should drink what you like and forget about those paring rules.

Wine	Type	Temp °F	Temp °C
Vintage Port	Fortified Wine	66°F	19°C
Bordeaux, Shiraz	Red Wine	61-64°F	16-18°C
Red Burgundy, Cabernet	Red Wine	57-63°F	17°C
Chianti Classico & Rioja (Reserva), Barbaresco , Cab. Sauvignon (Chilean/Australian), Pinotage	Red Wine	59-63°F	15-17°C
Rioja, Pinot Noir	Red Wine	61°F	16°C
Chianti, Zinfandel	Red Wine	59°F	15°C
Tawny/NV Port	Fortified Wine	57°F	14°C
Beaujolais, RosŽ	White Wine / RosŽ	54°F	12°C
Viognier, Sauternes	White Wine	52°F	11°C
Chardonnay	White Wine	48-52°F	9-11°C
Riesling	White Wine	47°F	8°C
Sauvignon Blanc		45°F	7°C
Champagne, Sparkling Wine, Dessert Wine *Tip - Champagne is best served and enjoyed chilled	Sparkling Wine	45°F	7°C
Ice Wines	Dessert Wine	43°F	6°C
Asti Spumanti	Sparkling Wine	41°F	5°C

fine wine reserve in Ontario, Canada generally has the lower temperature in the list above.
WineWare in Littlehampton West Sussex, UK has slightly higher recommendations for reds, but lower for chardonnay
Wine Serving Temperature Guidelines | FineWine Reserve
See Why wine temperature matters | SubRosa Wine
Perfect Drinking Temperature for Wine | WineWare
Wine Serving Temperature Guidelines

Decanting/Breathing:
A little aeration can make a striking difference in the flavor of your wine.

This is referred to as letting your wine breath or oxidizing it and done with the process of decanting.
Most red wines need at least 15 minutes for their reductive traits to evaporate. After that, an extra 15 to 30 minutes will make the remaining sharp aromas a lot milder. At the 60-minute mark, the tannins will become less intense. JJ Buckey

Generally, the longer a wine will keep in the cellar, the longer the decanting time should be when the wine is young. For example, a two-year-old wine that you have been advised will drink perfectly in ten years should be decanted at least two hours before enjoying. But when that same wine is close to ten years old, decanting for 30 minutes to one hour should be enough.
If your red wine is young with chunky tannins, letting the wine breath for about 1 to 2 hours will reduce any harshness and bring out a more velvet-like texture.
The older the wine, the more delicate it is.
Aromas and flavours can lose their strength quite quickly in an aged red wine, so the length of decanting (or any at all) wonÕt always be necessary. If your wine is over 10 years old, pour yourself a glass to see if it needs to breathe. HonestGrapes

For example, a two-year-old wine that you have been advised will drink perfectly in ten years should be decanted at least two hours before enjoying. But when that same wine is close to ten years old, decanting for 30 minutes to one hour should be enough. Princess and Bear

If your bottle is a lighter wine, or less alcoholic or concentrated in flavour, 30 minutes of breathing time should be ample.
Most white wines and rosŽs don't really need to be decanted, except in certain circumstances. See below>

. Decanting has numerous benefits, including separating the sediment from the liquid. This is especially helpful for red wines, which hold the most sediment.
Decanting also enhances a wine's flavor by exposing it to fresh air, and allowing it to breathe.

Decanting wine is the art of slowly pouring your wine from its original bottle into a glass vessel or decanter. We call it an "art" because you need to do it without disturbing the sediment at the bottom Ñ which is easier said than done.

Tasting: How to taste wine | BBC Good Food
Short version so you look like you know what you're doing (see link for what to look for)

Appearance: Pour the wine into a glass and Look at it:
- How intense is the colour? In reds this could range from a deep purple to a pale red.
- Does the wine cling to the glass as you move it. These trails are known as legs.
- Clarity, is it bright or slightly murky?
Smell: Give the wine a swirl. Put your nose in, and breath in gently.
It helps to do this with an open mouth to open up your olfactory system.
Taste: Take a small sip, not a big gulp, and hold it in your mouth, swirl it around and breath in a little.

Storing an unfinished bottle:
Best not to decant the whole bottle if youÕre not going to drink it all. Instead, pour a glass or two of wine an hour before serving. Then, "aspirate" the bottle (remove the air) with a vacuum pump such as a VacuVin Wine Saver and store for later. We like to aspirate our bottles then refrigerate. Most red wines will keep for two to three days, but we've had several drink really well after a week! Princess and Bear

Links:
When, and Why, Should You Decant Wines? | JJ Buckey
How Long Should Red Wine Breathe? | HonestGrapes
Do Wines Really Need to Breathe? | The princess and the Bear
Five reasons for Letting Wine Breathe | Youngberg Hill

Books:
Kevin Zraly Windows on the World Complete Wine Course: 35th Edition, 2020