How cool is your wine?

 A friend asked me about temperatures for serving wines (she's American and someone said Americans preferred their wines colder than other people!) and she sent me this chart, which seems to make sense:

Wine Serving Temperature Guidelines

Temp F	Temp C	Notes
100°	39°	Warm Bath
68°	20°	-
66°	19°	Vintage Port
64°	18°	Bordeaux, Shiraz
63°	17°	Red Burgundy, Cabernet
61°	16°	Rioja, Pinot Noir
59°	15°	Chianti, Zinfandel
57°	14°	Tawny/NV Port, Madeira
55°	13°	Ideal storage for all wines
54°	12°	Beaujolais, rose
52°	11°	Viognier, Sauternes
50°	10°	-
48°	9°	Chardonnay
47°	8°	Riesling
45°	7°	Champagne
43°	6°	Ice Wines
41°	5°	Asti Spumanti
39°	4°	-
37°	3°	-
35°	2°	Fridge Temperature
33°	1°	-
32°	0°	water freezes
0°	-18°	Freezer Temperature

Having replied to her I thought what I wrote might interest others, so here it is:

To bear in mind:

1. Wines will warm up after opening.  Chilled whites need to be kept cool, and a red which starts at the right temp will usually be a bit warmer at least.  Wines also warm up in the glass.
2. In the outside temps we have here in the Languedoc in summer, reds usually need to start a bit cooler than ideal so that most of the bottle is consumed at the ideal temperature.  I often put a bottle of red in the fridge for an hour in hot weather for this reason.
3. The disadvantage of drinking whites and rosés at their 'ideal' temperature is that you lose aromas - often, aromatic whites come out better when they have warmed up a bit.
4. When tasting at the makers', as we found when we went to the Rhône, the whites are often a bit warmer than ideal and the reds a bit cooler.
5. There are the same difficulties in restaurants - if they have a reasonable wine list they can't possibly keep all the wines people may choose at ideal serving temperature.  You realise after a while why expensive restaurants are so expensive - it takes a lot of organisation, equipment and staff to make sure it's all ideal.
6. You will have noticed in your table that there are not many Languedoc or Rhône wines in the list - ideal temperatures for many of the local reds are surprisingly cooler than people may expect.
7. On the whole therefore, it is not a bad thing to err on the side of coolness - if nothing else, wait  mins and swirl it around and it will warm up nicely.
8. Most wine tasting situations are for pleasure, not scientific experiments.  I do  own a wine thermometer but rarely use it - more enjoyable things to do!
9. In the end personal taste is paramount.  If you like something, it is OK for you.

The chart incidentally comes from a website you might want to look at - I have not done more than glanced, but it seems interesting.