How to serve Chardonnay To Have Guests Begging For More

You might be wondering how to properly serve your Chardonnay. Aside from the serving etiquette itself, it’s important to remember the rule of the thumb when deciding what cuisines to pair with your Chardonnay or white wines in general.

This is, red wines paired with red. Red meats like steak or ground meat, sauces such as a tomato pasta sauce, and other red foods almost always pair well with red wines. White wines, on the other hand, pair with white foods.

White meats such as chicken or most seafood meats like clams, sauces with a heavy cream base like Alfredo, and other white foods pair best with white wines. 

Although it’s not the law, you don’t have to follow this, but it’s something to remember for certain foods that cancel out notes in different wines, leaving them with an unpleasant taste.

Is Chardonnay served warm or cold?

Like all white wines, Chardonnay is best served chilled. When wines are chilled to the recommended temperature, they are found to be more enjoyable. A perfect chill will amplify the acidity of the wine, creating more defined aromas.

Defined aromas will bring out the taste of the wine. This is because when we can’t smell, we have a difficult time tasting anything beyond bland.

What’s the best temperature to serve Chardonnay?

The recommended temperature for a chilled Chardonnay is around 45-50 degrees F. If you’re trying to figure out how long it will take to chill a room temperature wine to this chilled temperature, it might take around 30 minutes in your refrigerator.

Most people will prepare their meal, and when it’s almost finished, they will pop their wine into the freezer for a chill. By the time everyone’s food has been served, the wine should be about ready to remove from the freezer and served.

For wines that have been opened and resealed to store, however, the temperature should be closely monitored. If the wine is stored in an area that reaches above 75 degrees F – there’s a chance that the wine could go bad at a faster pace. Once your wine is resealed after being opened, it should be stored in a cold dark place for no longer than a week, if not sooner.

What glass do you serve Chardonnay in?

There is indeed specific glassware to use when drinking red or white wines. For a Chardonnay, a traditional wine glass is considered to be the right glass to use. However, there is a reason for this. Allow me to brief you on why.

Wine glassware is created to assist the delicate properties of that specific wine. Red wine glasses will have shorter stems with large round bowls and rims. The opened rim allows the red wine to receive more oxygen, adjusting the flavor the more it’s exposed. White wines, on the other hand, do not require this exposure. They are already more delicate than red wine.

Therefore white wine glassware is created to protect the state of the wine. The long stem is utilized to protect the temperature of the wine from the warmth of your hands. The skinny bowl and narrow rim protect the wine from being exposed to too much oxygen.

Final Thoughts on Serving Chardonnay

Chardonnay is served cold, slightly chilled from room temperature at about 45-50 degrees F. Don’t allow an opened and resealed wine to be stored where the temperature exceeds 75 degrees F.

This will result in bad wine. Instead, it’s recommended to serve the wine in a traditional wine glass. Better known as a glass with a long stem, slim bowl, and narrow rim to prevent the delicate white wine from being exposed to too much oxygen.