White wines. What to do with these wines. There seems to be a
little misconception on how they are to be served. Just being a
white wine doesn’t always mean it’s to be served chilled.
White wines. What to do with these wines. There seems to be a little misconception on how they are to be served. Just being a white wine doesn’t always mean it’s to be served chilled.
Yesterday, one of my customers was looking for a nice bottle of Chardonnay for her and her husband that would go nicely with their dinner that night.
She wanted only a slight hint of butter in it, only slightly oaked and not too dry.
“It’s hard for me to find a Chardonnay we like. They don’t do much as far as flavor goes. I guess that’s why we like the red wines better. We can taste some fruit,” she said.
We looked at quite a few in the category she wanted before we selected the right one for that night’s dinner. After a little light conversation during her purchase, I casually said, “Make sure you take this out of the refrigerator and open it up and let it breathe and warm down before your dinner, a good 40 minutes or so should do it.”
“Oh!” she said. “Don’t I want to drink it cold?”
“No!” I responded. “You don’t want to serve this chilled. A good temperature would be around 65 degrees.”
Chardonnay is one of those wonderful white wines that likes to be drunk at a warmer temperature. It brings out their great flavors of tropical fruits or sometimes fresh melons. The vanilla bean flavor you can pick up from the oak at times. The warming will open up those aromas. Think of what happens when you add hot water to tea! It’s like the same thing. Ahh!, the aromas!
“No kidding!” she said with a smile on her face. “I’ll let you know tomorrow if it made a difference and has change my mind about Chardonnays.”
Wines like the Chardonnay, Viognier, Pinot Blanc, White Bordeauxs, Spanish and Italian dry “White Wines” for example – those styles of white wines that tend to be on the dryer side like to be drunk at a slightly warmer temperature rather than chilled.
The Rieslings, Gewurztraminer, Sauternes, Muscats, Ice Wines and the so-called “Dessert Wines” (with the exception of red and tawny port wines) – those styles of wines that are on the sweeter side like to be chilled and served chilled. I also prefer the Sauvignon Blancs and Pinot Gregios on the cooler side.
The next day, my customer opened the door to the wine room with this big grin on her face and exclaimed, “Oh my gosh! I can’t believe the difference that made. It really brought out a lot more flavors and I could really taste some fruit. It made our meal so much better. It was perfect!”
Taking the time to learn a little about the wines you serve yourself, loved ones and friends, will only enhance your enjoyment. So, enjoy!
Larry Brewster is the wine room manager at Dorothy McNett’s Place, 800 San Benito St.
