Red Wine

Appears in
Le Cordon Bleu Matching Wine with Food
Le Cordon Bleu Matching Wine with Food

By Le Cordon Bleu

Published 2010

  • About
If you have brought up a red wine from a cool cellar, it is best to let it warm up gradually rather than rapidly. This can take a few hours, however, so when possible, plan ahead. Over-heating a wine can kill its flavour, so if in doubt, serve it too cool: its temperature will soon rise in your hand or with the warmth of the dining room. To get red wine to the ideal temperature, choose one of the following options:
  • Stand the bottle in the kitchen for a couple of hours - it is invariably the warmest room in the house.
  • Put the bottle into a sink or bucket of warm water - a temperature of about 20°C (70°F) will warm the wine to 15-18°C (59-65°F) in about 8 minutes. Bear in mind that the label will probably come off.
  • You could use a wine warmer or Therm au Rouge. It is a similar shape to a rapid-chill sleeve. Place it into a saucepan of boiling water to heat, then slide over a bottle to warm the wine. Do not warm a bottle of red wine and then return it to the cellar. Fluctuating temperatures adversely affect wine.