Photo: Flickr, Sifu Renka You’ve fretted, researched, consulted and emptied your pockets to ensure that you have just the right wine for the occasion – and then, disappointment. But before you blame the winemaker or merchant or critic or friend, consider this: was the service temperature appropriate for the wine? I know, I know, yet another bloody thing to consider in the already over-complicated world of wine. But believe me, temperature matters. You wouldn’t serve cold porridge or hot gazpacho, would you? Cheese served straight from the fridge offers only a shadow of its flavour potential, while warm soft drinks are mostly sugary and aggressively carbonated. The bottom line is that temperature has a significant impact on the perception of things we eat and drink. It has been shown that our taste receptors are modulated by temperature change. Translation: the same things taste different at different temperatures. Thus it’s worth considering the effects, both positive and negative, of the service temperature on wine. After all, you’ve come this far, so you might as well go all the way to maximize your pleasure! The Aromatics It’s fairly obvious that temperature affects the volume of aromatic compounds that reach our nose for smelling. At a chemical level we know that when something is warm its molecules vibrate fast, and slow down when cold. A dramatic example is water: at 100C, H2O vibrates so much it splits apart and becomes a gas. At 0C those barely-moving molecules solidify. A wine’s aromatic compounds are thus dramatically affected by temperature: the colder the wine, the less volatile the compounds, and the less aromatic a wine will be. At the other end, when too warm, many of the enjoyable molecules are gone before you can smell them, and alcohol becomes the dominant (and not so attractive) smell. All wine types are affected in the same way. So a simple rule is in order: the more aromatically complex a wine is, the warmer it should be served to maximize your smelling pleasure. Conversely, the more simple the wine (or the poorer the quality), the cooler it should be served, to at least maximize the refreshment angle. (This is a great tip for disposing of those second rate, cheap wines gifted over the holidays!) The range is from about 4C (the average fridge temperature) for the simplest wines to about 18C for the seriously complex, which is slightly cooler than the average Toronto home or restaurant. And yes, this goes for white wines, too. Top-flight whites are most interesting around 12-14C. Note then that any wine pulled straight off the shelf should be at least slightly chilled. This is my biggest gripe when ordering wine, mostly red, in restaurants: I see the bottles sitting on the bar, or languishing above on shelves or in wine racks without temperature control. A quick check of the thermometer in my back pocket reads 23C, or even higher. A few feet up near the top racks and it’s probably closer to 25C. At this temperature the wine tastes of alcohol and not much else. Even the most full-bodied reds look much smarter at 18C than 22C. Next week, how temperature affects wine texture and taste, along with a handy how-to guide and appropriate range of temperatures for different wine styles. John Szabo is a master sommelier and wine writer for Toronto Standard. Follow his tweets here: @johnszabo. Subscribe to our newsletter.