Wine is incredibly sensitive to changes in its environment, which includes temperature. Temperature control is vital to ensure wine does not spoil and retains its flavour, texture, and balance. Keeping your wine at the right temperature in a dedicated wine storage solution doesn’t just refer to storing your bottles adequately; it also means knowing which temperature is ideal for serving it.

Temperature control for wine can be broken down into two key aspects: storage and serving. While storage temperature ensures your wine’s long-term preservation, serving temperature enhances its flavours and aromas at the moment of enjoyment. Both are equally important for maximising your collection.

How should you store wine?

The last thing you want is for your wine to age prematurely or become ruined when in storage, which is why knowing its ideal temperature and perfect wine room conditions are vital. Any extreme fluctuations in temperature can damage its structure and bouquet, so ensure that you are taking the right measures with your collection.

Avoid common storage mistakes like using kitchen racks or countertops, where temperatures can fluctuate due to cooking heat or sunlight. Similarly, spaces like garages or lofts often need consistent climates, making them unsuitable for long-term wine storage.

Purpose-built wine storage solutions, such as a Spiral Cellar, provide an environment designed specifically to stabilise temperature and humidity. Our Spiral Cellar uses the earth’s natural insulation to protect your collection, ensuring that your wines mature gracefully without the risks posed by temperature changes. For larger collections, Unspiral cellars or bespoke wine rooms offer equally tailored designs to suit individual preferences while maintaining the perfect climate.

What temperature should red and white wine be stored at?

While there is yet to be a clear consensus about the perfect temperature to keep wine, especially because the optimal temperature for your wine bottles will depend on the wine itself, most experts agree with similar temperatures. The most important decision, however, is making sure that once you choose the temperature, it always remains the same and doesn’t oscillate:

• Red wines, like the Cabernet Sauvignon or the Tawny Port, tend to have an optimal storage temperature that lies between 12°C and 19°C. However, the process to produce Madeira wine uses higher temperatures, which allows the final product to withstand higher temperatures than other wines.

• White wine, such as Chardonnay, is typically kept between 8°C and 12°C.

• As for sparkling wines, such as champagne, they should be kept in a storage area at 5°C to 8°C.

Generally speaking, your wine should always be kept under 21°C; anything higher than that might damage it. If your wine is exposed to high temperatures for long periods of time (over 25°C), it can quickly spoil and become ‘cooked’. While cooking with wine is a fantastic way to enjoy the stunning bottles in your collection, you want to avoid flat aromas and flavours.

Is it bad for wine to get too cold?

A temperature that is too low will also spoil your wine. For instance, while your refrigerator is perfect to keep wine for a couple of months, you should never use it as a long-term storage area. Fridge temperatures lay below 7°C, which can dry the cork and ruin the wine.

Humidity control is equally vital. In addition, as wine ages, a series of chemical and physical reactions take place inside the bottle; these reactions are influenced by several factors, like temperature, and the speed of the reactions doubles for every 10°C increase. A wine that should age in a few years’ time, for instance, can be past its prime in months if not kept at the right temperature.

Wine humidity

Too little humidity can dry out corks, allowing air to seep in and oxidise the wine. Conversely, too much humidity can lead to mould formation. Spiral Cellars’ designs are specifically engineered to maintain an optimal 70% humidity level, striking the perfect balance to protect your collection. Light and vibrations can also harm wine by degrading its structure over time. Spiral Cellars‘ underground designs naturally shield your collection from both, ensuring its integrity is preserved.

Wine serving temperature chart

The serving temperature of wine is equally crucial, although most people pay it a different attention. Serving wine at the right temperature will unlock the full bouquet of flavours and aromas and can help you enjoy your wine even more.

Just as with storing wine, the temperature to serve wine is not an exact science either, which means some wines will be better served at higher temperatures than others. Connoisseurs tend to follow similar guidelines, though.

This means that there are no concrete rules to follow; usually, a good rule of thumb is that red wine should be uncorked at least thirty minutes to an hour before serving, in order to breathe, while white wine is best served cold.

This means that:

• White wines, rosés and sparkling wines should be served between 4°C to 10°C, so that you don’t lose their fruity aromas and flavours. An example is Pinot Grigio. The low temperatures also allow sparkling wines, like champagne, to retain their bubbles.

• Red wines, like Port, can be served at temperatures between 15°C-18°C, which emphasises the beautiful tannins in the wine.

Accessories like cooling sleeves or decanting carafes can help bring your wine to the ideal serving temperature quickly and elegantly. Spiral Cellars’ bespoke wine rooms can include serving shelves and temperature zones to ensure your wine is always ready to impress your guests.

Could a Spiral Cellar Help your wine collection?

In addition to providing wine storage solutions, Spiral Cellars also helps protect your wine from light exposure, temperature fluctuations, and humidity challenges in our wine climate control consulting. From underground Spiral Cellars to fully bespoke wine rooms, contact us today and we will ensure your wine is preserved and ready to enjoy at its best.