I'm truly clueless on wine & just read that you shouldn't put it into a standard fridge (which I did on Tuesday night). I thought it was supposed to be served cold & I have guests coming tomorrow night that I was planning to serve it to. I do not know the variety (I didn't bother to read the label), but it is pink in color if that matters. Should I leave it in the fridge? Should I take it out? Will it be OK to serve tomorrow night?
2011-12-22T07:32:45Z
I was gifted the wine by someone at work who didn't bother to recall that I am allergic and thus don't drink it - - I have been told it is a great brand and I just didn't want to ruin it for my guests who I will be serving it to tomorrow night (they do drink wine, we have alot of BYOB places in our area & they often bring wine when we go out together).
k. k.2011-12-22T07:12:38Z
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Ignore Alex. He always gives the worst information.
Yes, red wines should be drank at "room temp", but not the room temperature of today, unless you keep your house in the high 50s to low 60s, which they used to before heaters were commonplace. Slightly chilling red wine does NOT mask imperfections, it shows the wine as it was intended and hides overt fruitiness and ripeness, while balancing the alcohol smell and taste. Too many people hear "room temperature" and think it's fine to serve reds at 80 degrees. Gross.
You can put any wine in a standard fridge if it's only going to be in there for a relatively short time (under a year). Otherwise, the lack of humidity will begin to dry out the cork. Also, the on-again-off-again lights and vibration don't do your wine any favors (again, not a big deal for short storage).
Remove your wine from the fridge:
Sparkling: right before serving Rose: right before serving Most whites: twenty minutes before serving Red: an hour before serving.
You should not store wine for a long time in a regular fridge b/c the cork can dry out. Wine fridges have settings to make sure the humidity is higher so the cork doesn’t dry out and they are usually set to around 55 degrees for storing wine for a longer period of time. Since you said it’s pink it’s probably white zinfandel and you can keep that in your fridge, especially since you just got it as a gift recently. You are not storing it in your fridge for aging you are just holding it until the night you want to drink it. And white zin is usually served chilled anyway so you’re fine. Just take it out when you want to serve it.
If it's red, take it out. If it's white or rose then leave it in. Personally, I prefer my reds cooler than room temp, so I give them a 20 minute chill right before i serve them. Brings the temp down to the mid 50's
Irregardless, chilling the wine is not going to damage it. Your goal should be to get your reds in the 55f - 60f range and your whites in that 40f range for when your guests arrive. I must also admit that I like my whites colder than is recommended (closer to 35f), and I typically just put them in an ice bucket for my guests to serve themselves
Depending on the type of wine. If it is red wine, usually you leave it out and do not chill it. When you chill red wine what are you doing? You are hiding the imperfections in the wine. Normally red wines are served at room temperature. It brings out the body and aroma of the wine.
When I tend bar I chill my wines on ice and leave the red wine open and at room temperature.