Wine guides
Almost all of us serve red too warm and white too cold. Fixing that improves a bottle more than spending more money on it.
These are reference ranges, not rules: they depend on the wine and on how warm the room is where you will drink it.
⚠️ Notice that no red reaches 20 °C (68 °F). That is the whole point of this page.
The phrase comes from European cellars where the room was 16 °C (61 °F). In a living room in the middle of summer it is 26 °C (79 °F), and at that temperature the alcohol takes over: the glass smells of spirit and the fruit disappears. A red that spent 20 minutes in the fridge before serving is almost always better than the same red straight off the shelf.
Too cold, a white tastes of nothing: the chill numbs the aroma and only the acidity comes through. If you took it out ice-cold, let the poured glass sit for a while and you will notice the fruit appear as it climbs a couple of degrees.
Temperature does not change the quality of the bottle, it changes how much of it you can perceive. The same wine at 22 °C and at 16 °C tastes like two different wines: one heavy and alcoholic, the other fresh and fruity. It is the cheapest adjustment there is, because it costs nothing at all.
The temperature is on you. What Cru-Zu solves is the step before: which bottles you own and which one is ready to open tonight. Free up to 15 bottles, on iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Download Cru-Zu on the App StoreYes, and usually you should. Most reds are better served between 12 and 18 °C, below the temperature of a house in summer. Twenty minutes in the fridge before serving is normally enough.
Between 6 and 8 °C, properly cold. The chill helps the bubbles hold in the glass.
It is most likely too cold. Well below 8 °C the chill masks the aroma and only the acidity comes through. Let the poured glass sit for a few minutes and the aroma returns.
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