The Best Serving Temperature for Your Spanish Wines

One of the biggest crimes against wine is serving temperature. And Spanish wines are no exception!

You’ve heard the old wisdom; white wines should be served cold and red wines at room temperature. But the problem is: the old wisdom is plain wrong.

Well, not wrong per se, but just a bit outdated. It turns out that you’ve been serving your white wine too cold and your red wines too warm.

But don’t worry.

Before you panic because you have guests coming round and a bottle of wine to serve, take 3 minutes to read this post. With just a little preparation, you can make sure that your Spanish wine is served at the right temperature and tastes as delicious as possible!

There’s just one thing to keep in mind.

I’ve put a lot of temperatures below (in Celsius and Fahrenheit, for you very unique Americans). But I cannot remember the last time I used a thermometer to check the temp of a wine, either at home or in a restaurant! A lot of the time, it comes down to your judgement.

Dry, unoaked white wines might just need 20-30 minutes out of the fridge before they’re ready to drink. Red wines just need 20-30 minutes inside the fridge before opening, depending on how young they are. The temperatures below are there to guide you, but they’re not a law you have to live by.

In general just remember, it’s better to serve a wine too cold, rather than too warm. You can always heat the glass up in your hands, but nothing you can do if it’s already too hot!

Best Serving Temperature for Cava

Cava should be served well chilled. Always. There is nothing worse than a glass of warm fizzy wine—it somehow tastes dead and alive at the same time! It’s like a bubbly, liquid Frankenstein’s monster.

Freixenet, Spain’s biggest Cava winery, recommends serving regular Cava at 6°-8°C (43-47°F). You should serve Reserva and Gran Reserva Cava a teensy bit warmer (8°-10°C or 47°-50°F).

Note that even 6° is still warmer than the temperature of your refrigerator. So don’t pour it straight from the fridge!

If you pour it too cold, some of the lovely warm brioche aromas won’t be there! Too warm, and the light, zesty citrus flavours will be gone. But if you hit that Goldilocks temperature, your Cava will taste amazing.

Serving Temperature for Spanish White Wine

Even though they’re less famous than their red brothers and sisters, Spain’s white wines are well worth your time. But be careful not to serve them too cold. At less than 5°C (41°F), they taste dull and the acidity is going to rip your face off.

Dry white wines like Albariño, Verdejo, and Macabeo (also known as Viura in the Rioja region) are perfectly suited to the Spanish summer heat. They’re crisp, snappy, and refreshing, and like to be served chilled.

Dry, unoaked Spanish whites are best at 7°-10°C (45°-50°F). Any colder and the acid will seem too high, and warmer temperatures will get rid of that refreshing characteristic.

Oaky and creamier Spanish whites (like some of the white wines from Rioja) can be a little warmer. 10°-12°C (50°-54°F), depending on just how oaky the wine is.

Serving Temperature for Spanish Red Wine

Spanish reds get served too hot. It’s just a plain, sad fact. (The same is also true of Australia! Seriously, why would I want a glass of wine that’s been sitting around in tropical humidity all day? I can almost hear the grapes crying out in vain).

The truth is, the old wisdom is wrong. We’ve all heard the phrase: “you should serve red wine at room temperature”. It’s not exactly wrong, per se, but it’s a bit outdated.

Sure, you should serve red wine at room temp, if you live in northern France, 400 years ago. The Earth has gotten warmer (if you’re a climate change denier, this blog isn’t for you), and central heating was a great invention. Modern “room temperature” is quite a bit warmer now.

So, the best modern wisdom is to serve your red wine at “cellar temperature”. You know that feeling when you walk into a basement and it suddenly gets colder? That’s where wine loves to live. It’s happy there, and red wines don’t appreciate it when you warm them up.

Spanish red wines appreciate it even less! (Especially since Spain is a very hot country).

So, depending on which type of Spanish red you’re drinking, the ideal serving temperature might change quite a bit. Here are the basic rules:

How Warm Should my Spanish Red Wine Be?

• Light and Young Reds like cooler temperatures, 12°-14°C (53°-57°F). Think younger (and unoaked) Garnacha, Mencía, and the rare Pinot Noir. You’ll maximise the fresh fruit flavours and the bright acidity.
• Oaked, Young Reds like cool-ish temperatures, 14°-17°C (57°-63°F). These are more typical Spanish wines; like the Crianza wines of Rioja, Ribera del Duero, and Priorat. The aim is to highlight the fruit flavours alonside the spice, and not hide the tannin structure.
• Aged Red Wines prefer cellar temperatures, 17°-18°C (63°-65°F). It makes sense, they’ve spent at least a few years sitting at that temperature in the winery! Bottles labelled as Reserva or Gran Reserva are the ones to watch out for.

What Temperature Should I Serve Sherry Wines At?

Sherry is one of the most misunderstood (and underappreciated) wines in the world.

Most people just think of sherry as a granny’s drink; cloyingly sweet and syrupy. But you might be surprised to hear that it’s the most popular wine in Spain! Particularly in the south (where all sherry is made), this is the traditional aperitif and digestif of choice.

And it’s not just a sweet wine! Sure, some sherries are among the sweetest, most tooth-rotting things you could ever drink. But other styles like Manzanilla and Fino actually rank in the driest wines in the world.

But if you want to try Sherry at home, what temperature should you serve it at?

• Manzanilla and Fino: These pale, light, and salty wines should be served chilled, at 7°-9°C (45°-48°F). Too cold and you’ll lose the delicate, savoury flavours; too hot and it will taste like kerosene.
• Amontillado and Dry (Seco) Oloroso: A bit less chilled, 12°-14°C (54°-57°F). These wines are a little richer than their unoxidised brothers and sisters, and need a bit more warmth on their bones.
• Cream Sherry: The different sweetened sherries (Pale Cream, Medium, & Cream) also like cool temperatures. If they get too warm, their sweetness will seem a little out of balance. Go for 10°C, 11°C, and 13°C, respectively (50°, 52°, 55°F).

Read More

Thanks for reading my guide to the serving temperature for Spanish wine!

Want to learn more about the vino of Spain? Check out my full list of articles all about the wonders of Spanish wine. Red wines are the hardest to serve at the right temperature, so read this article by Decanter if you’re looking for serving temperatures for red wines outside of Spain!