What is the Best Temperature to Store Table Wine

Table wines are delicious and simple versions of wine, offering all the tastiness of a decent red wine with the affordability and simplicity of a cheap wine. So how do table wines differ from other wines when it comes to storage? What is the best temperature to store table wine?

Controlled Climates

Some would say that the best temperature to store table wine is really up to you. Table wines are usually inexpensive and are simply “filler” wines for some people. 

I think that a table wine stored a little cooler than room temperature will taste great when opened, as long as it does not undergo any serious temperature changes while stored. Of course, many wine enthusiasts would consider this inefficient practice.

Many enthusiasts would say that storing any red wine in a temperature-controlled area ranging between 12° and 19°C (55° and 65°F) is best. This will allow the wine’s basic elements to remain in-tact while encouraging the flavour and aromas to develop.

Generally, red table wines can be chilled at about 12.7-15.5°C (55-60°F), whites at 9.5-13.3°C (49-56°F), and rosés near 9.5-10.5°C (49-51°F).

Depending on how long you plan on keeping your wine stored (and if you have a great wine taste/nose), it might be to your benefit to keep your wine in a temperature-controlled environment. But if you are like many people in the world who just like a glass of wine each night and are not looking for anything fancy, storing your wine in a simple wine rack at a cool room temperature—say in a basement or a closet—will serve you just right.

Wine-Storing Devices

Wine cellars are designed specifically to keep your wines cool and aging appropriately. They are usually created to keep heat out, but humidity in at about 60-70%. The humidity helps keep the wine corks wet, which keep them from drying out, cracking, and allowing air to get into the bottle. This causes premature aging, which ruins the wine altogether.

Wine coolers or wine refrigerators are great little machines because they can store a number of wines at perfect, consistent temperatures. They are normally small enough to fit between two floor cabinets, in a closet, or in a pantry.

Extreme Temperatures

When discussing what the best temperature to store table wine is, you have to take into consideration any extreme temperatures the bottle of wine will be up against. If you live in a very cold or hot area, you may need to invest in a wine cooler or refrigerator to keep your wines from being destroyed by extreme temperatures.

When table wine gets too hot, it gets damaged and the heat distorts the taste; when it is too cold, bottles of wine tend to explode. Moral of this story: don’t store wine next to very hot machines such as refrigerators, dishwashers, or stoves, and never, ever, store wine in your freezer.

What is the best temperature to store table wine? If you want to keep it tasting great and lasting longer, store it at about 10-15.5°C (50-60°F) in a controlled environment. 

Basically, keep your wine out of direct sunlight, heat sources, and extremely cold or hot temperatures and it will be just fine.