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Whites: chilled (45-55 degrees F) for a few hours in the refrigerator.
Reds: slightly cooler than room temperature (about 65 degrees); Younger fruity reds benefit from chilling.
Sparkling Wine: thoroughly chilled; refrigerate several hours or the night before serving.
Dessert Wine: room temperature.
Chilling tones down the sweetness of wine. If a red wine becomes too warm, it may lose some of its fruity flavor.
A decanter is used mainly to remove sediment from older red wines. Also, it can be used to open up young red wines. Otherwise, wine will "breathe" enough in your glass and decanting is not necessary.
By swirling your wine, oxygen is invited into the glass, which allows the aromas to escape.
Q&A's modified from Wine Facts on 800wine.com
By: Lisa Alexander