Red Wine: To Chill or Not to Chill

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  Posted by nana Thu Sep 17, 2009 10:12am PDT

  Thanks for this info, my boyfriends brother is always taunting him because he liks to chill his red wine. Saying, "Wine is to be enjoyed at room temperature". This however is quite difficulte when you live in California and the average room temperature is 70-80 degrees. Now I can tell him it's ok to have the wine chilling for a while.

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  Posted by LA Fri Sep 18, 2009 6:28pm PDT

  i drink all of my reds chilled. i was told by a sommelier that chilling red wines reduces the tannins and nitrite levels. this in turn allows me to drink reds without my usual migraines. he also told me i could pour the red wine through a silver pour spout or over a silver spoon and it would have the same effect. i do prefer the taste of reds chilled.

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  Posted by Sharon Sat Sep 19, 2009 8:26pm PDT

  The "room temperature" to which people are referring was the temperature of the old chateaus (the ones with the cold stone walls and the tapestries hung to insulate the residents.) This means that chilling red wine is an acceptable practice as it recreates that temperature.

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  Posted by Sandy Mon Sep 21, 2009 12:43pm PDT

  I always refridgerate my red wines, and I do get poked fun at a bit for it. I was on vacation recently and had some red wine chilling in my friend's refridgerator. Her husband called and asked "Why is there a bottle of chianti in the fridge?" and she was like "Because it is Sandy's." To this he replied "I get that, but WHY?" Once he tried it, he was hooked on having it colder than the usual 75 degree room temperature. It takes a lot of the alcohol bite out and allows you to enjoy the fruit and wood flavors.

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  Posted by Casey Sun Oct 11, 2009 8:06pm PDT

  I have a question that is semi-related to this topic. I purchased a Malbec for a friend, and without thinking, she placed it in the refrigerator....for about a week. My question is this: Is it ok to take the Malbec out of the fridge and let it return to room temperature before drinking? What negative effect (If any) does this have on the wine.

  Thank you.

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