Serving a wine perfectly is the only way to achieve the fullest appreciation. It pays to strive for such perfection to bring out the best in wines.

Even if you love wine ardently you should serve it at cool temperatures.

It is a well-know fact that the taste of wine is significantly affected by the temperature. However, this is the only fact upon which there is common agreement.

White wine should be drunk chilled. A good rule is: the younger the wine, the lower the temperature at which it should be served. Red wine should be somewhat warmer than white wine.

Unfortunately, the old monastery practice of serving wine at room temperature has been misinterpreted often leading to the accepted practice of serving red wine at 22 °C or even 24 °C.

This is not only based on a misunderstanding but also has a detrimental effect on the flavour of the wine. The monks knew very well that cooler wines tasted better. In those days the room temperature in monasteries seldom exceeded 18 °C.

The following guidelines will help you and your guests to avoid mistakes. 
Wines should be served at the following temperatures:

18 °C elegant red wines (Bordeaux)

16 °C heavy red wines (Burgundy, Côtes-du-Rhône)

12 °C light red wines (Beaujolais ordinary table wines)

10 °C dry white wines

8 °C Rosé wines

6 °C liqueur-type wines, champagnes, sweet white wines


With a testing glass and correctly temperated wines out of the climatization cabinet you give your guests the possibility to taste the wine in a perfect manner.

The host cannot only prove the bouquet but also the temperature of the wine before it is poured into the glasses. The aforementioned recommendations of temperature should also be mentioned in the wine list.

Glasses should be:

Clear - to enhance colour through external light
Transparent - for observing the colour of the wine
Thin - to suit the mouth
Large - as the glass is only filled a third

Every wine should be served in a glass that will enhance its own individual qualities.

Therefore we recommend:

In addition, it is worth remembering that all wine-producing regions of the world have developed special wine glasses to their wines.

For a good waiter the uncorking of a bottle of wine is a ceremonial rite.

Only after presenting the wine label for inspection by the guest should the waiter proceed to remove the cork with elegance, avoiding any undue agitation of the bottle or its contents. Firstly one deftly cuts off the top of the soft metallic capsule on the head of the bottle with a suitable knife. The wine must not come in contact with metal.

The exposed top end of the cork and the rim should be wiped with a clean cloth. The cork should be extracted as steadily as possible, without unduly disturbing the contents. The waiter should then discretely smell the cork to check for any undesirable odours. Then the waiter takes a clean napkin to lightly wipe the inside of the neck of the bottle.

The waiter pours a small sample of wine into a testing glass. Then the host proves the bouquet of the wine and after half a minute he can see the correct temperature of the wine at the thermometric scale.

After the host has given his approval the ladies are served first beginning at the right of the host and moving in a clockwise direction, followed by the gentlemen, starting at the right of the hostess. Wine must always be served from the guest's right.

Then the testing glass has to be removed from the table.

Each additional bottle of the same wine must be similarly checked by the waiter. The waiter must never handle the bottle in a manner which results in the wine within the bottle being shaken about.

The decanting process should be reserved for wines with sediment and young immature wines whose bouquet must be drawn by exposure to oxygen at time of decantation.

Decantation is the delicate process of carefully pouring wine from a bottle to fill a carafe without undue disturbance of the sediment at the bottom of the bottle. Decanting is undertaken by candlelight, visible through the neck of the bottle and should cease as soon as the sediment shows sings of joining the flow of wine.

If a wine is left standing on a dining table for longer than recommended, it should be put into a guarantor of temperature, which keeps the wine at the correct temperature by insulating the bottle from warm outside air.

All wines with sediment - including white wines with tartar crystals - after being removed from the guarantor of temperature should be immediately laid in a wine basket for an appropriate time to permit the sediment to settle in the smallest possible area at the bottom of the bottle.

Caution! Old wines which contain sediment can be so sensitive that decanting can "kill" them. It is therefore important to know the right moment for decanting a given wine, namely:

Very fragile sensitive wines, at the very last moment prior to serving
Strong wines, prior to commencement of dining
Very old vintage wines (for example 1945, 1957), several hours before dining, since this procedure enhances their full body and softness.

The decanted wine breathes best and retains its ideal drinking temperature if stored in the guarantor of temperature by the waiter until ready to serve.